Fantasy Twist
by KezaBabez
Summary: FFVII with a genderbend!Twist. When Cloude Strife becomes a member of AVALANCHE, she finds herself leading a team on a crazy adventure. That was not part of the job description. . .
1. Prologue

Fantasy Twist

KezaBabez

_So basically, this is a rewrite of the original FF7 game with a little twist. All (well most) of the characters have been gender bent. But don't think I'm just gunna copy everything from the game because I'm not, there are gunna be a whole lot of differences, you'll see . . ._

_Also, you the reader, as in the game, can vote for what you want to happen next._

_Please, read before judging :)_

**Prologue**

The black sky covered the city, many stars shining down like spotlights. A lone figure looked down from these twinkling stars to look back at a broken pipe spitting out what looked like thick green water. But this figure knew it was anything but. Finding no way to fix the crack, he stood up straight and stared at it for a few seconds before turning around and continuing down the alleyway. He came to the clearing and stopped at the kerb, watching as cars and motorcycles roared down the busy roads. He looked down at the cobbled pavement and sighed, then looked back up at the glowing monstrosity that was situated in the middle of the large city of Midgar. Shaking his head, he crossed the road and continued his journey . . .


	2. Chapter One

Fantasy Twist

_As a note, when it is human enemies, I've decided that the characters are just going to knock them out rather than kill them._

**Chapter One**

Across the other side of the city, a train was due to arrive. The two red clad train instructors were waiting for the train to appear so they could perform their job. They heard the chugging of it arriving and both waited for it to come to a full stop in front of them so that they could open the doors for any passengers to come out safely. The large green and black snake like train drew slowly nearer and soon came to a halt in front of them, the breaks letting out a long and loud squeal. Both instructors sighed and went to take a step toward the nearest door to them, but a noise made one of them look up to the top of the train. A tall, slim figure jumped from the roof and onto the platform. The stranger stood up straight and grinned at the nearest instructor, daring him to come near.

The instructor frowned and took out a black baton from the belt of his trousers and ran forwards, only to be flipped by the lawbreaker and to fall unconscious as his head hit concrete. The other instructor turned and yelled, just only realising that his co-worker was being attacked. He ran forwards to apprehend the criminal and to help is fallen comrade, but another person shot out of the carriage nearest to him and kicked him hard in the stomach, making him fly across the platform, the back of his head skidding along the ground as he went. His head made contact with the train and his blurred vision saw another large figure drop from the top of the train before he too, passed out.

A tall and thin black woman with long, braided black hair ran out of the same compartment and glanced at the unconscious instructor briefly before turning her head back to the top of the train and scowled. This woman wore tight, bottle green trousers, a light brown crop top showing off her pierced midriff and a darker brown jacket that was open and the arms severely cut off. She looked like someone you would pass in the street without a second glance if it wasn't for her one distinguishing feature. Her right hand was not a hand, but a large gun that was grafted on to the end of her slender arm, the silver flashing delicately in the electric lights. How it had become like that, she wouldn't say.

However, as her three other teammates ran around a corner, she used her gun arm to beckon to another person crouched down on the roof of the train. A blonde woman propelled herself from the roof, performing a flip before she landed and crouched as her feet met the floor. She straightened up and flicked her unusual hair from off her shoulder. The blonde locks were a mass of uncoordinated spikes, the biggest and longest pointing to the left hand side of her young, pretty face. And tied back was a long ponytail, also rather spikey, where it ended at the base of her back. She was clothed in a different uniform to the rest. Wearing a dark blue top with black, knee length, skin tight shorts and brown boots that started at the middle of her calf. She also looked normal aside from two obvious features. One noticeable item was currently strapped to her back – a large, cracked sword. This sword had to be placed at an angle on the woman's back as it was almost as tall as her. This giant sword held two holes near its red, elaborately decorated handle.

The other distinguishing feature of this woman was her eyes, bright blue and seemed to sparkle. This was the mark of a SOLDIER, eyes of a man or woman that had been exposed to Mako – the world's energy. The intense, blue glare was directed at the still scowling black woman, who snorted at the others over the top entrance.

"C'mon newcomer" she scowled, her voice deep and husky. "Follow me"

And she turned on her heel and ran; following her three other teammates down the platform. The blonde woman chuckled darkly and walked over to the fallen train instructor nearest to her and bent down. Not checking if this man was still breathing or not, she rummaged around in his coat pockets where her hand found something. She drew the small bottle out and smirked as she read the tiny label – Potion.

"Thanks" she said, her voice husky but lighter than the other woman's, "I'll be needing this"

She straightened up and noticed the other instructor lying on the floor. With the intentions of also raiding through his pockets, her walk turned into a sprint. But as she neared, two blue uniformed men turned the corner and stopped her in her tracks, guns pointed at her chest.

Smiling, she slowly reached behind her and grabbed onto the handle of her large weapon. Behind the masks, she saw the men's faces contort in anger. Releasing it from its magnetic button on her back, she drew the sword in front of her expertly. Without warning, the guards fired their guns at her, some going wild the others hitting the sword that the woman turned to shield herself. With lightning speed, she propelled herself forward and slammed the broadside of her weapon into the man's face, where he kneeled over and fell to the floor, face down. With the other guard, she quickly turned, dodged a blow and slammed the hilt of her sword onto his head. Before he could recover, she kicked him in the middle and the blow from his head hitting the floor was enough to assure her that he wasn't getting up to bother her any time soon.

Grinning, she pumped the air with her left fist and swung the sword in circles around her head with her right, a sort of victory dance that nobody saw. She ran past their silent bodies and, remembering she was on a mission and that she was against the clock, she decided to miss out checking the pockets of the other instructor and turned around the corner and ran outside where the path was T-shaped and her other teammates were stood by a large, sealed door. The only man of the group with light brown hair tied in a ponytail was working hard to open the gate electronically.

As she approached, the two other women of the group turned and watched as she stopped behind them. The one dressed in green with short, dark brown hair turned and smiled in awe.

"Wow" she said, "You used to be in SOLDIER alright!" she glanced back at the man knelt on the floor, still trying to work the door open. She turned back to the SOLDIER and continued, "Not every day you find one in a group like AVALANCHE"

The man trying to open the door looked over his shoulder and frowned, "SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy?" he asked. "What's she doing here for?"

The dark haired woman lost her smile and turned to the man, "Hold it, Jesse" she said, "She WAS in SOLDIER. She quit them and now is one of us". She turned back to the blonde and shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Didn't catch your name. . ."

The blonde frowned, not remembering if she even _told_ them her name. Maybe because neither could trust the other. But since they were on the same team, she decided to co-operate for the moment.

"Cloude" she said with no emotion, "Like in the sky, but with an E"

The woman smiled, maybe because it was much an unusual name. This made Cloude frown even further.

"Cloud with an E, eh?" she said, "Well, I'm-"

Losing patience and interest quickly, Cloude cut over, "Look, I don't care what your names are. Once this job's over, I'm outta here"

A look of hurt passed over the woman's face and she glanced at the other woman who was stood a little away from the group, keeping an eye out. Cloude snorted softly, wondering if the large woman was up to the hard task they were about to perform. But before either of them could speak again, they heard heavy footsteps coming their way. Holding the handle of her sword in case it was the enemy, Cloude waited with bated breath to see who it was, only to let go of the handle seconds later as the black woman appeared again. Her brown eyes were sharp and they glared at each and every one of them in turn.

"The hell you all doin?" she snapped, clenching the fingers of her one normal hand, "I thought I told you never to move in a group!" shaking her head, she continued, "Our targets the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it"

There was a beep and they all turned to watch as the doors were finally opened. Jesse stood up and smirked in achievement and ran through, followed by the two other women. Their leader blocked Cloude from following and glared down at her, the height different between them rather big, Cloude's forehead only came to the others bosom.

"Ex-SOLDIER, huh?" she scowled, good hand on her hip, "Don't trust ya! My name is Bernette but never call me that unless you want a few bullets through your scrawny arse. You call me Bernie; now get a move on, bitch"

Cloude watched as Bernie ran and followed the rest of her team. Gritting her teeth together and resisting the urge to say something rude, she too followed, glancing quickly at the tall building they were aiming for. She took the first right where the dark haired woman was pointing and then a left where the larger woman was indicating. Another left and they ran towards a door and went through, automatically coming to a long bridge, suspended over an endless drop. Two guards were blocking their path but Cloude soon cleared the way in the same fashion as she did with the train instructors. Once they were dealt with, the group split up in different directions. Rather than go straight ahead like the larger of the group did, she took the right and across another bridge and through the doorway.

Up ahead were some steps and the rest of her team, (aside from the fat one). She looked around as she was in a small, corridor, large yellow pipes taking up the right hand side of the wall. Bernie waved her over and she ran up the steps and stood in front of the older woman with distaste. Once again, Jesse was opening the door via a small device that he held in his hand.

"First time in a reactor?" Bernie asked Cloude once she had approached.

Cloude raised a thin blonde eyebrow, "No" she answered, "I did work for Shinra, ya know?"

Bernie waved her hand to throw aside the less than friendly comment and spoke again, "The planet's full of Mako energy" she said angrily, "People here use it every day"

Cloude shrugged her shoulders, not caring, and this made Bernie snap. She slammed her foot, turned and yelled in frustration, "It's the lifeblood of this planet! But Shinra keep suckin' the blood out with these weird machines"

Cloude yawned and placed a hand on her hip, watching Jesse as he continued to try and open the door. "I'm not here for a lecture" she said in monotone, "Let's just hurry this up"

Bernie bared her teeth in anger and jabbed a finger in Cloude's face, "I don't like your attitude" she spat, "you're comin' with me from now on"

Cloude shrugged, "Whatever" she said. "Just don't slow me down". Bernie huffed and went over to Jesse.

"Nearly there" he said, "Bingo" he pressed a button and the door sprang open. They all ran through it, Jesse pushing his fringe out from his brown eyes. They reached another door automatically but all Jesse had to do was press another button and the doors also opened. Another door had to be opened before they reached the lift. The lift was small and was coloured in dark blue, causing their eyes to adjust since they had just came out of rooms that were light and bright. Jesse closed the door and pointed to the other side of the lift.

"Press that button over there" he told the blonde.

Cloude walked over and rather than simply press the little blue button, she hit it with the side of her first, causing Bernie to snarl. A sound like a 'boing' went and they were quickly going down. Cloude took this time to take in Jesse's appearance. With his light brown hair and eyes, Jesse was a rather ordinary looking man. Wearing tan cargo pants, a blue shirt and a silver, metal chest plate; he held nothing of interest for Cloude. She wasn't a woman fussy about an others appearance, but looking at Jesse, she came up with the conclusion that the man was rather dull. Jesse noticed the eyes watching him, looked up and smiled at the blonde, making her scowl and turn away, leaning her back on the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Little by little" Bernie said, almost in a whisper, "the reactors will drain out all the life. And that'll be that"

Cloude shrugged, "It's not my problem".

Bernie slammed a fist against her chest and snapped, "The planet's dyin', Cloude!" she said.

Cloude shook her head and closed her eyes, "The only thing I care about is finishin' this job before security and the Roboguards come"

Bernie clenched her fist and glared at the blonde woman, wanting to get through to her. But after thinking it through, she knew it was useless so she turned away, willing herself not to lash out.

The lift came to a shuddering halt and Jesse and Bernie ran out without a backwards glance. Blowing a stray stand of hair out of her face, Cloude opened her eyes, pushed herself from off the wall and followed, hoping that for the rest of the mission, Bernie or anyone else wasn't going to try and convert her to their ideas.

They had theirs and she had her own, and that was that.

_First chapter over and down with, please review._

_Also, although I have in mind what the others names are going to be, I'm hoping to see your suggestions to see if they are any better than mine. Cloud and Barret have already been done and I'm keeping the ones I've chosen for Tifa and Aerith, so, maybe some suggestions for the rest of the AVALANCHE and even the TURKS as I'm not sure with the ones I have. Who knows, I might choose one you have thought up :)_

_Also, I'm gunna be updating this story regularly with one chapter a week. Hopefully Fridays. _

_Thank you for reading so far,_

_Keza xXx _


	3. Chapter Two

Fantasy Twist

_I'm sorry if not much of this story is accurate. _

**Chapter Two**

After following them outside, Cloude came face to face with a large room full of electrics and complicated mechanics. The floor she was on was striped like a bumblebee, yellow and black. She turned to her right and saw Bernie disappear down a long staircase. Following suit, she quickly caught up to her, not in the slightest amazed about the extremity of the room. The stairs curved, and just as they were about to catch up to Jesse, two mechanical, single legged robots jumped out of nowhere in front of them, separating Jesse from them. Jesse turned but Bernie shook her head and shouted, "Go on ahead, we'll take care of these".

Jesse nodded and ran onwards. Bernie stroked her gun arm as Cloude reached for her sword. "Don't hold me back" Cloude said as she quickly took a swipe at one of the robots, the blade easily slicing through metal and engine. The robot shuddered and exploded, metal shards showering the floor and leaving nothing but a smoking heap. Following suit, Bernie dodged a blue laser that was fired at her and took aim, shooting about ten rounds into the robots main body work, where it copied its companion and collapsed. Raising her gun arm in the air, Bernie whooped as Cloude reattached her large sword onto her back.

Jumping over the smoking heaps, they continued their journey, watching as Jesse jumped the last two steps and ran ahead into a doorway. Bernie in the lead, they followed, careful to not trip over and make fools of themselves. Running through the door, they came to a room full of pipes, machinery and scaffolding. They had to jump a gap in the ledge to reach Jesse who had been waiting for them.

He nodded, turned, and jumped to the side and grabbed onto a long ladder and began descending quickly.

"Don't fall" Bernie snapped as she too jumped for the ladder and crawled down after Jesse.

"Oh yeah" Cloude scowled, copying, "That would make your day, wouldn't it? Me falling". She heard Bernie chuckle darkly but didn't say a word. Once they reached the bottom of the ladder, they ran across a beam where Jesse was ordered to stand guard. He saluted as they continued down a few steps.

Suddenly, a ball of fire streaked by them, narrowly missing Bernie's foot as she went to take the last step. Looking up, she ducked as a floating, green, one eyed monster swooped and attacked. Acting quickly, Bernie grabbed the little creature in her hand when it dived again, then threw it to the floor and stamped on it, blue ooze squishing out from underneath her brown boot. When she lifted her foot up, the dead creature that resembled an octopus, melted and left behind nothing but blue gloop.

"Disgusting" Bernie snarled, rubbing her boot on the floor to rid it of the mess. Cloude agreed as she skirted around the gloop and waited as Bernie became satisfied that her boot was clean enough to proceed. They came across another ladder they had to jump to get to, and as they reached the bottom, they reached a thick pipe that was hot enough to feel through their boots instantly. They ran across it, went down another ladder and came to the floor with a door the left hand side and another bridge to the right. They ran across this bridge that was suspended over a sea of thick green, gushing out of pipes. Bernie looked down and spat, "Mako".

"C'mon" Cloude said as they reached the end of the bridge. Once at the end, they came to a machine that was attached to the wall, a value in the middle of it. Cloude looked at it, knowing that they had reached their destination.

"When we blow this place, this ain't gonna be nuffin more than a hunk of junk" Bernie said. She turned to the other and said, "Cloude, you set the bomb"

Uncertain, she raised an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you do it?" she asked.

"Just do it" Bernie snapped, "I gotta watch to make sure you don't pull nuffin".

"Fine" Cloude retaliated stiffly, "Be my guest".

She took a step forwards, but suddenly, her mind was full of red and a long squeal passed through her brain, causing her head to burn and her eyes to water slightly. She gripped her head and something whispered in her mind, a voice she didn't recognise. _Watch out,_ it said. _This isn't just a reactor_! Suddenly the ear throbbing noise disappeared and so did the red mist that had descended over her eyes. She looked up and saw Bernie watching her, looking concerned.

". . . What's wrong?" she asked.

Cloude shook her head, "Huh?"  
>Bernie clicked her tongue irritably, "What's wrong, Cloude? Hurry it up"<p>

Cloude blinked then said sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry".

She stepped forwards, took the bomb from Bernie's hand and attached it to the machine, just under the value. She pressed in a few codes and stood up. But as she did, alarms bellowed throughout the building, making them both jump. Bernie turned her head and frowned, "Head's up. Here they come".

Cloude turned in time as a giant, mechanical scorpion thrashed its way over to them. It had six, giant legs and a silver stinger at the end of its curled tail. It hadn't been given eyes so it must have been heat or movement activated. Quickly grabbing her sword, Cloude braced herself, knowing they had to fight it because it was so large; it blocked the path so they couldn't run away. Before either Cloude or Bernie could move, a light green and blue laser appeared and seemed to scan the pair of them. It disappeared and something flashed – it was locked onto them. Readying her Materia that she had set into a bangle before the mission began; Cloude placed her sword back onto her back briefly and summoned the Materia awake. The yellow ball glowed as a green light appeared at Cloude's feet, circling her. Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and struck the giant scorpion, adding to Bernie's shots from her gun arm. Not happy about being attacked, the scorpion turned around and aimed the point of its tail at them, striking out quickly. Cloude wasn't quick enough to dodge so she winced in pain as the sharp tip of its tail sliced through the flesh of her shoulder.

Screaming furiously, Bernie steadied herself on her feet and she aimed her gun at the scorpion and something like a fireball was forming at the end of her gun. Just as the enemy turned around, the ball of fire shot forwards, hitting the scorpion dead on, bits of metal and coating flying in all directions. Activating her Materia again, another bolt of blue lighting slammed down hard on the red robot. Still recovering from her big attack, Bernie managed to get a few more bullets into the bodywork before another scan scope of blue and green searched for them again - obviously turning its back on them made it lose its position of them. As the scan continued, Cloude felt a burning rush come from her sword and release itself up her arms. Clenching her hands tighter around the handle, she let her body do what came naturally to her. She ran forwards, jumped into the air, the light from the scan catching the sword and making it shine, and brought the blade slicing down, the sword creating a gash down its frame and revealing the mechanics within.

Needing to take a small breath, she watched Bernie fire relentlessly at the scorpion, her teeth grit together and her legs sturdy. The relentless attack caused the scorpion to raise its tail high in the air.

"Bernie" Cloude shouted, "Be careful. Attack while it's tails up, its gunna counter attack with its laser".

Taking the advice, Bernie stopped, reached into her pocket and throwing something towards her, she caught it and saw that it was a Potion.

"Use it on your shoulder" Bernie yelled as she fired again, "I don't want you to pass out due to blood loss"

Nodding, Cloud popped the lid and emptied the green contents onto the shoulder. A satisfying sizzle came to her ears and she watched as the broken skin seemed to pull itself together and heal her wound, leaving no trace that she had been attacked. Feeling stronger, she attacked with the Materia again. The scorpion took a swipe at Bernie, but she jumped over its tail like it was a skipping rope and fired. As the scorpion turned, they attacked together. The legs of the robot buckled, the mechanics inside its frame letting off blue sparks of electricity, smoke coming from it in black bursts. Suddenly, the body cracked and the scorpion fell to a motionless heap on the floor, still cracking electricity and smoke quickly filling the room.

"We did it" Bernie yelled, punching the air in triumph, "That'll teach ya! Don't mess with AVALANCHE!"

Wiping her brow, Cloude replaced her sword and watched as the scorpion continued to spark and twitch.

"Come on" she said, going over and climbing the robot so that she could get out, "Before it explodes"

Bernie's eyes widened, "Of course. I'm not letting it take me with it"

They climbed the scorpion as the alarms continued to blare, something they realised was still going since they tuned it out, concentrating on fighting the robot.

"Ten minutes to detonation" a woman's voice called calmly, like she was announcing anything but an explosion. Running, they quickly crossed the bridge over the sea of Mako and went back up the ladder as fast as they could.

"Quickly" Cloude called as Bernie was ahead.

"I am" Bernie shouted, "This gun doesn't have fingers you know, I can't grip the steps as well as you"

Once they climbed the ladder and crossed the pipe, the alarms grew louder. Suddenly, Bernie's head was thrown forwards as a light blue clothed guard hit her across the head.

"I have no time for you" she snapped, punching the enemy so hard in his face that he fell off the pipe and down, falling into the pool of Mako, hitting his head off the bridge before he splashed. Cloude watched as he rose to the surface but didn't move, the blood from his head tinting the green. He was clearly dead.

"Get a move on" Bernie snapped, shoving her forwards.

Cloude went first as they went up the next set of ladders, going a lot faster than she did when Bernie was ahead. Anyone would think she would get weighed down by her sword, but she was so used to its presence, that the weight didn't affect her anymore.

She reached the top as Bernie was still halfway, but she didn't bother waiting. She went up the steps, jumped the monster that Bernie had stamped on earlier and ran past Jesse who was knelt down, tugging at something. Cloude turned, curious, and saw that what he was pulling at was his own leg; his foot had done through a hole in the grate. Hero-complex coming in, Cloude ran over to the man and knelt down next to him. "You alright?" she asked.

Jesse shook his head, "My leg is stuck" he said.

"Here" Cloude said, "Turn your foot sideways, it should come through" Jesse did as instructed. Bernie, who had just arrived, came over to them.

"What are you waiting here for?" she yelled, "This place is gunna blow!"

"One second" Cloude snapped back, pulling along with Jesse. A few seconds later, the young man was thrown backwards as his foot quickly came free.

"Ah" he said, rubbing his ankle, "Thank you"

"Come on" Bernie snarled, grabbing Cloude by the scruff of her shirt and hoisting her to her feet, "I'm not here to baby you"

The three of them took off at high speed, up the ladder, onto the ledge and over the hole.

"Five minutes till detonation" the female voice said again.

"We know! We know!" Bernie snapped as they reached the long, curving steps. Out of nowhere, two more, one legged robots appeared again. Jesse took a step back as the women took over. One attack from each of them set them on their way again. Reaching the yellow and black striped floor again, they quickly piled into the lift where Jesse slammed the button to go up. The journey up seemed to take longer than the journey down did. Jesse paced, Bernie cursed and Cloud tapped her foot. Nothing they did could make the lift go faster. Soon they came to a halt and Bernie practically tore the door off by opening it. Running, they met up with the other two women, the thinner one opening doors as they ran. They reached the T-shaped bridge again but instead of going the way they came, they went in the opposite direction, the door opening for them as they approached.

As they ran, the dark haired woman (Cloude read on her shirt that she was named Biggs – or that was her surname) fell down. Cloude stopped to help her up, but due to the floor she had a bust nose.

"Quickly" Cloude said as a number of explosions sounded behind them. As the door closed behind them, an almighty bang sounded, causing the ground to shake and the dust from the rafters above to fall.

They were in a cave, rock and debris sealing the door they had ran through. They took this moment to collect their breaths and to tend to any injuries they may have acquired.

"That should keep the planet going" Biggs said, pinching her nose as the blood flowed, "at least a little longer"

"Yeah" the porky woman sighed, taking her red bandana off her head and wiping her sweating face with it.

Jesse, who was working on another bomb to blast them out of the little cave they were in, stood up and said, "Ok, everyone get back".

They ran as far as the cave could let them. The explosion wasn't as big as the other, in fact, it was tiny when compared. But it was enough to blast the wall in and create a fiery exit. Running forwards, Cloude jumped through first, sword ready in her hands in case they automatically ran into trouble. Her eyes swept the clearing, fire and debris everywhere, but not a soul in sight, landing in an empty basketball court.

"All clear" she called back. Biggs and Bernie ran through together, followed closely by Jesse then the large woman, whose jacket had seemed to catch fire. No one helped as she ran in circles, trying to extinguish the fire with her screams only. Soon, she calmed down enough to stop running and pat the fire out with her hand. Embarrassed, she turned to Bernie to await orders.

"All right" Bernie said, a hint of a smile on her lips, "Now let's get out of here. We'll rendezvous at Sector Eight station! Split up and get on the train"

They all nodded and split up in separate directions. Cloude waited till they were out of earshot before turning to Bernie. "H-hey!" she said as the black woman turned and went to leave.

"If it's about your money" Bernie snapped, looking over her shoulder, "Save it till we're back at the hideout" then she continued up the stairs that were behind them. Swearing under her breath, Cloude followed, a series of small pops and bangs from the fire reaching her ears as she left.

She reached the city that was in chaos, men were running around as billboards that had fallen were on fire. A man in the mist of it all stood up and patted down his red jacket, looking a little confused. As Cloude passed, looking anything but guilty, the man came over to her.

"Excuse me" he said politely, his voice light and airy, "But what happened?"

Cloude looked at him and thought that she had never seen such an effeminate man before. His hair, light brown with hints of red was shoulder length but tied back into a small ponytail, where it curled once. His fringe was split in two, one side longer than the other, framing his delicate face. Although his clothes were boyish, (red jacket ending at his elbows and hips, beige shirt and a pair of brown trousers and boots), he held in his hand a basket of yellow and white flowers. If Cloude hadn't of heard him speak first, she would have thought this man was female. But she decided to be polite to him.

"Nothing" she said, "Listen . . ." she was unsure what to say, so she looked at the basket and said the first thing that came to her head. "Don't see many flowers around here".

"Oh these?" the man said, looking delighted, "Do you like them? They're only a Gil . . ?"

Not wanting to upset the man, Cloude put a hand into her tiny pocket and handed over the money. The man grinned, "Oh thank you" he said, handing her a perky, yellow one. "Here you are".

And nodding, he walked off, sending her a smile as he did. Placing the stem of the flower through her hair since she had nowhere safe to put it, Cloude continued her way to the destination spot, running past the effeminate man without a backwards glance.

She soon reached a station that held a fountain in the middle of it. People were still running around wildly and every few seconds, blue static passed across the roof. Deciding to move quickly, Cloude left. Back onto the street she felt it empty, until someone shouted at her. "Hey! You there!"

"Dammit" Cloude muttered under her breath, running forwards. Heavy footsteps followed her, coming faster and nearer. She came to a street but didn't know which direction to head. They began firing at her but they missed as she turned the corner where three more guards were blocking her path. Gritting her teeth, she tried the other way but she was surrounded as three more came from that way too. They began closing in on her.

"Drop your weapon or we'll open fire" one yelled at her.

She looked around, all guns pointed directly at her. They weren't kidding, they would shoot her if she didn't do as instructed, but there was no way she was going to leave her sword. She had nowhere to go. She backed away where her back collided with the edge of the stone bridge, overlooking the train tracks.

"That's as far as you go girly" another guard said smugly.

She looked around as all nine guards closed in, their guns still pointed at various parts of her body. She had missed the train, she knew it, and the sounds coming from the track as a train whistle blew confirmed that.

"We won't ask you again" another guard yelled, "Drop your weapon"

Cloude closed her eyes. It was either give up quietly and go with the guards to prison or jump the bridge and fall to her death by getting run over by the train that was supposed to get her out of the city. As both the guards and train came nearer, she opened her eyes and made her decision.

_Not much of a cliff-hanger if you know the game, but the chapter was getting too long._

_Please review,_

_Keza xXx_


	4. Chapter Three

Fantasy Twist

_By the way, I use this - \/\/\/\/\/\/\ to show a break and the writing going to a different part of the story since I dunno how to do the lines that other people use :) _

**Chapter Three**

The sound of the train going at full speed reached her ears. The guard's fingers were hovering over the triggers of their guns that were still pointed at her. Gritting her teeth, she decided that death would be more honourable than turning herself in to Shinra Police. But hopefully, if her plan worked out, death and prison were avoidable.

"I don't have time to be messing around with you guys" she snarled, turning around and jumping expertly onto the ledge. She didn't look around as the guards yelled at each over to grab her, but she felt the air rush past her as they fired bullets at her, most hitting her sword, protecting her back. Suddenly, the train shot underneath the bridge, and without a second thought, she jumped onto it, the sounds of gunfire still behind her. She readied herself as the train underneath her feet buckled, as she looked behind her, she was delighted to see that none of the guards had followed her. By the looks of it, one had tried, but he had a last second change of heart and was clinging onto the side of the bridge, a fellow guard helping him up. She ducked as the train went down and through a tunnel.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back inside the train, in the back with the entire luggage so no one knew they were there, the four other members of the team sat mournfully, listening to the tracks as the train proceeded. Bernie was resting her back against the wall, arms crossed and a deep frown set in place. Jesse and Biggs were mirroring her stance, but in other parts of the compartment they were all in. The larger woman (Wedge) was sat on a crate, looking down at her large feet. She looked up at Bernie, and said softly, "Cloude never came".

Biggs looked up as well, "Cloude" she said, "Wonder if she was killed?"

"No way" Bernie said, shaking her head.

"Cloude" Jesse said sadly, remembering the young woman who risked her own life to help him when his foot was stuck. They had not long met, but he was just starting to like her, Ex-SOLDIER or not.

They all looked up when they heard rattling of movement on top of the train's roof, but none of them thought anymore of it, they were going through a cave or tunnel, maybe some of the stones had fallen off, they were sure they weren't going to get rumbled.

Biggs, hopefully, continued, "Say, do you think Cloude's . . . going to fight till the end for AVALANCHE?"

"The hell do I know?" Bernie snapped, glaring at the other woman, "I'm not a mind reader, am I?" furious, she slammed her fist against the crate she was stood next to. "If y'all weren't such screw ups!"

Wedge looked up, hurt, but decided to get the conversation away from something morbid, "Hey, Bernie, what about our money?" Bernie slammed the crate again and Wedge fell silent, sorry that she had even asked.

Then another bang on the train roof sounded, making them all look up again, and then footsteps, quick ones, like someone was running.

"Have they found us?" Jesse asked, worried. Pushing himself from off the wall, ready to either fight or flee if needed.

The all braced themselves as the footsteps got nearer, and then suddenly, their door slid open, showing them the side of the tunnel they were going through and the lights, then someone was jumping in, covered in black soot. The person stood up and grinned, the only thing recognisable of the person was the blackened, blonde hair.

"Cloude!" all but Bernie yelled, Wedge getting clumsily to her feet. Cloude confidently pushed her fringe aside and patted down her arms. "Looks like I'm a little late" she said coolly.

"You damn right you're late" Bernie snapped, neither happy nor upset about Cloude's sudden arrival, "Come waltzing in here, making a big scene!"

Cloude waved off the comment carelessly, "It's no big deal. Just what I always do"

"Shit" Bernie sighed, shaking her head. "Having everyone worried like that! You don't give a crap about anyone but yourself, do you?"

Cloude smiled, "Awww, Bernie. Were you worried about little old me?"

"C-course not!" Bernie snapped, beating her chest once again, "I'm taking it outta ya money, hot stuff!"

The grin slid of Cloude's face dramatically as Bernie stood next the Wedge and made sure that everyone knew who was in charge by making an announcement.

"Okay, everyone, wake up!" she snapped, "We're moving out, follow me"

She turned on her heel, jumped over the crates and luggage and through the door into the compartment. Wiping her brow, Wedge went next. She looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Hey Cloude, you were great back there, I'm glad you're back"

"Yeah" Biggs said, following, "we'll do even better next time"

"I'll just shut this" Jesse said lightly, going over to the still open door and closing it, the sounds of the train becoming dull as soon as the catch clipped together. He turned back to Cloude and smiled, "Oh Cloude, your face is pitch-black. You look like you've taken a bath in coal. One sec, I'll clean you up"

He took a red handkerchief from his trouser pocket and began wiping gently at Cloude's face, making sure that all of the soot was cleared away. When he retracted his hand, he had a faint blush on his cheeks, but it went unnoticed by Cloude who felt embarrassed about being treated like an infant.

"There you go" Jesse said lowly, looking at the floor. He took a few steps forwards to follow the others, but stopped and added, "Hey, thanks for helping me back there at the reactor", and he too jumped over the boxes and went through the door.

"No problem" Cloude said to nobody as the door shut behind Jesse. She looked down at herself and realised that her clothes were filthy. She patted herself down as best she could, but she knew she still had patches of it all around her, in her hair and on her exposed legs. She took her boots off, one at a time and tipped them over, small stones and more soot falling out and onto the floor. When she had replaced her boots back onto her feet, she took the flower out from her hair and saw, to her surprise, that it was a clean as ever, not a spot of dirt on it. Amused, she set it on a crate for a moment as she untied her hair and let if fall over her shoulders. No matter what she did with it, it always went into its peculiar shape. For as long as she remembered, it had always been spiky. She had tried straightening it once when she was a young teenager, but all that happened was within two hours, it had seemed to have gone back to its old style, all by itself. Shaking it free of soot, she put it back into a high ponytail, replaced the flower and followed the rest of her team.

She entered the carriage were other passengers were sat and stood in various areas. As Cloude entered, the driver spoke through his mic to the passengers, "Last train out of Sector Eight. Last stop is Sector Seven, Train Graveyard. Estimated time of arrival is twenty-three past twelve, Midgar Standard Time. We hope you enjoy your journey and thank you for choosing Midgar Central Trains".

As they all entered, the passengers of the carriage all either moved furthest away from them or moved to the next one completely. Bernie took the seat nearest to her and lent her head back and stretched her legs. Taking the initiative, the three other members of AVALANCHE took seats further down the carriage, Jesse went over to a screen and pressed some buttons and scanned whatever was written on it. Not in the mood to rest, Cloude looked around and saw that a man was laid down on the chairs, fast asleep. She wondered if this man knew that they were arriving at the last stop and would have hated for this man to have missed his stop. So she shook him awake.

"Oi"

The man turned over, but didn't open his eyes. But he did, however, speak. "This is my house" he said sloppily, "So make yourself at home". Frowning, Cloude tried again, but the man didn't even stir. Worried, she turned to Bernie who seemed uninterested.

"Shut up and sit down" she said, "Stop acting like a damn kid"

Cloude growled, sure she was young, only twenty-one years of age, but she wasn't a child and she was sick of being treated like one or as an outsider. She had already made it clear that she was gone as soon as she got her money for the mission, but she felt that their attitudes towards her were rude and unneeded. She didn't say this of course because Bernie had a temper and you were mad if you dared to try and test it. So Cloude remained silent and went to talk to someone that wouldn't shout at her, so she went over to Wedge.

"Someday, AVALANCHE will be famous. Everyone will know our names. How cool is that? Me famous?" she said as Cloude went over to her, "Do you think so?"

"Yeah" Cloude said slowly, "Sure it'll happen one day"

Wedge beamed as she closed her eyes. Cloude didn't want to break the woman's fantasy so she went over to Jesse instead.

"Oh, Hey Cloude" he smiled, "Wanna look at this with me? It's a map of the Midgar Train System. C'mere, I'll explain it to you" he turned back to the screen as Cloude stood closer. "I love this kind of thing" he said, "Bombs and monitors, you know? Flashy stuff!" he sighed as the blank screen bleeped and a green, 3D line map of Midgar appeared before their eyes. All of it looked technical, and Cloude suddenly felt that it was a wrong move to talk to the man, but she listened anyway. Just because she wasn't a team player, it didn't mean she was totally anti-social.

"This is a complete model of the city of Midgar" Jesse told her, "You can see that the top plate is about fifty meters above ground. A main support structure holds the plate in the centre and there are other's built in each section" Jesse smiled and whispered lowly, "The one we blew up was in the Northern Section. Then there's numbers two, three and the others all up to number eight. They all provide electricity to Midgar. Instead of names we just name them plates since no one can really remember what they used to be called. Ah, this is next". The screen zoomed in further. "This is the route this train is going" a yellow dot flashed up, "The route spirals around the main support structure" Jesse explained as white dots showed the path the train was going, the dots going through the centre of Midgar, "We should be coming to the centre any second now. At each checkpoint, an ID sensor device is set up. It checks the identities and backgrounds of each and every passenger on board. The data is then sent back to the centre bank at Shinra Headquarters. We look rather suspicious, so we're using fake ID's" and he looked delighted about it.

Just then, blaring sounds entered the carriage and a red light flashed quickly around them. Cloude seemed to be the only one panicking, everyone else not in the least bit alarmed or distracted by the noise. "Speak of the devil" Jesse smiled, amused. "Don't fret, that light means we're just going through the ID security check centre. We should be ok" he then looked rather nervous, "When the lights are done searching, you don't know what kind of creeps will come out of lurking" he then looked out of the window and looked rather relieved, "No matter, we're almost back"

The red lights shuddered and then were replaced with a blinding white flash for a second before everything went clear, back to as it were before the ID security check. Cloude turned away from Jesse, not wanting another demonstration of how the train system worked, so she took a seat opposite Bernie who was looking distastefully out of the window behind her.

"Look" she said, "You can see the surface now. This city has no day or night. We would be able to see the sky if that damn plate wasn't in the way!"

Cloude turned her head to be able to see where her comrade was looking, sure enough, not a speck of the sky could be seen. "A floating city" she said, "A pretty unsettling sight"

Bernie looked up, mildly shocked, "Huh?" she said, standing up, "Never expected to hear that outta someone like _you_. You're just full of surprises, aren't ya?"

Cloude smiled, "Of course" she whispered.

Bernie shook her head and announced, rather loudly, "A city on a plate. It's 'cuz of that fucking 'pizza' that people are suffering. And on top of that, we've got them Reactors draining all of the energy"

Cloude crossed her arms and avoided looking at Bernie, "Then why doesn't everyone just move up to the plate? Seems like the logical thing to do if everyone is suffering below it"

"People are poor" Bernie snarled, "No money. Or maybe it's because they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets!"

Cloude sighed and looked out of the window, watching as the world passed by in a flurry of colour and shapes, "I know" she said, "No one lives in the Slums because they want to. It's kinda like this train. It can't run anywhere except where the rail takes it".

Everyone remained silent, unsure what to say. The train circled once and a sound indicated that they were going to be stopping soon. Sure enough, they felt the train come to a slow, shuddering halt. The door was opened as soon as the train was motionless, and they let other passengers out of the compartment before they themselves left, breathing in fresh, tainted air. Biggs, Jesse and Wedge were the first to leave, rather eager to get out. Then Bernie followed, not in a rush to follow, but having no desire to stay inside longer than was necessary. She jumped down the steps just as Cloude exited. She took in a breath of air and closed her eyes, enjoying the wind rushing through her hair. She would have happily stayed longer, but Bernie had called them to order.

"Get here, all of yeh!" she shouted as the train instructor closed the door behind Cloude.

They all ran and circled around the tall woman. Bernie crossed her arms, the gun flashing deadly in the light and turned to each and every one of them, sure that she had their attention. Biggs, Jesse and Wedge were waiting expectantly, but Cloude was waiting for Bernie to hurry up, not amused about having to wait to hear what the woman wanted to say.

"This mission was a success" Bernie informed them, looking away from the blonde, "but don't get lazy now, the hard part is yet to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion, coz the next one is gunna be even bigger than that!" she threw her arms up in the air to show how much bigger the next explosion would be, "We'll meet back at the hideout" she took a few steps away from the group and looked over her shoulder as she walked, "Move out!"

_Another chapter done :)_

_Keza xXx_


	5. Chapter Four

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Four**

Everyone made their way off the station platform, eager to get inside and maybe get something to eat. The others ran but Cloude walked, not in the mood to run anywhere. She knew what she wanted to do, she wanted to get her money and get out. She was a mercenary after all, she couldn't stick around if other paying jobs were out there for her. She passed the tower and entered the village where headquarters was stationed. As Cloude turned the corner, she heard gunshots and quickly rushed forwards to see what the commotion was about. As usual, in the centre of it all was Bernie. Cloude watched as men tripped over themselves to get out of the pub – Seventh Heaven. Bernie was telling them to get out, not because they were drunk or because they were disruptive, it was because Seventh Heaven _was _headquarters. Bernie shouted after them as Cloude walked closer.

"Get inside" Bernie snapped, shoving Cloude ahead and up the steps of the pub, "Everyone else is already inside, you slow shit"

Cloude growled as she went over to the pubs doors and opened it. As soon as she stepped inside, a blue, heavy bundle hugged her knees.

"Momma!" it squealed. But suddenly, the weight left her legs and Cloude watched as a young boy of about four years old ran away and hid in the corner. Confused, she argued with herself if she should go over and comfort the boy. But then, a tall man stepped from behind the bar and crouched next to him.

"Marley" he said, his voice deep and soothing, "It's alright. Aren't you going to say anything to Cloude?"

The man stood up, grinning as he came over to her, the little boy closely behind him. Cloude smiled a little smile, looking up at her old friend. Trey Lockhart was a year younger than her but he didn't look it. He was wearing a white shirt and long, black sweatpants that were over his red and black boots. As a fighter, he wore red gloves, his arms strapped up with black bandages, bandages that ended at his elbows. His eyes were red, but had a hint of brown in them when looked at in a certain kind of light. His black hair was a little messy and ending with a dolphin flick as the nape of his neck. He smiled down warmly at Cloude.

"Welcome home" he said, "Looks like everything went well" he then frowned slightly, "Did you fight with Bernie?"

"Yeah" Cloude said sheepishly, self-consciously rubbing her arm.

Trey chuckled, "Shoulda known" he said, "She's always pushing people about. And you've always been in fights, ever since you were little" Cloude blushed, remembering how she had always fought with the boys back in their hometown. Trey continued, "I was worried". He glanced to Cloude's hair when something caught his eyes. He chuckled, "A flower?" he said, "How nice. You almost never see them here in the Slums. Where did you get it?"

Cloude took the flower out of her hair and looked down at it, "I bought it off someone. They had a whole basket of them" she knelt down and peered at Marley, "I have no use for this. Do you perhaps want it?"

Marley blinked, his large brown eyes searching Cloude's face then looked down at the flower. He nodded shyly, reached out and took it in his hand, suddenly not as shy as before. Cloude smiled and stood up straight. Feeling lost for words, she looked up at Trey and nodded. She felt shy and awkward around the handsome Trey, he had always had a gaggle of female admirers, ever since he was young, but he never seemed interested in it. He liked putting his effort into his friends rather than his admirers. Cloude was about to ask if he was well, but heavy footsteps made her fall silent. Bernie ran into the room and looked around, obviously searching for something or someone.

"Momma" Marley yelped happily, running up to Bernie and jumping into her welcome arms, "Welcome home"

Bernie sent her son a welcoming smile and held him at her hip, stroking his brown hair. She then looked down at his hand and asked, "Where did you get that flower from Marl?"

Marley looked around at Cloude who had sat on one of the wooden tables, feeling slightly out of place. She looked up when she heard her name being said.

"Oh?" Bernie said, glancing over at the blonde then at the boy, "Did you thank her for it?"

Marley flushed and turned to Cloude and smiled shyly, "T-thank you, Cloude. Don't worry, we'll take care of you"

Cloude nodded once to indicate that she had heard. She didn't want looking after; she could do that perfectly fine on her own. But she wasn't going to say that to such a young boy, she wasn't a complete idiot. She felt gratitude for Marley and his words, but in all honestly, it wasn't needed or wanted.

"So" Trey said, "You all right, Bernie?"

Bernie hitched Marley up higher on her hip and beamed, "Great!" she announced, for the first time, sounding genuinely happy. She looked around at the rest of the team and continued being their leader. "Get in here, we're starting the meeting"

She walked over to the pinball machine that was by the far wall and slammed a button on it. Rather than start a game, the machine shuddered as the floor underneath it descended downwards. Biggs, Jesse and Wedge all jumped down after Bernie as Trey took his place behind the bar, picking up a glass and drying it with a cloth. Cloude got up from the table and wondered if she should follow the others, but she decided that she didn't care about the meeting as long as she got her cash, so she went over to Trey, who smiled at her.

"Take a seat" he said, putting the glass back onto the rack and picking up another as Cloude did as instructed. "How about something to drink?" Trey asked.

Cloude shrugged, "Sure" she said, "I don't mind what"

Trey grinned, "Coming right up, just a sec"

He turned around and began rummaging around for whatever he needed to make Cloude's drink. Cloude inspected her short fingernails as he did this. After a few moments, she heard the tickle of ice upon glass and she looked up just in time to catch her drink as it was slid across the bar towards her. It was a cocktail with a pink little umbrella sticking out of it. Cloude snorted as she examined it.

"You know, I'm relieved you made it back" Trey said, making the blonde look up quickly. Trey looked neither happy nor upset. Cloude used the umbrella to stir her drink as she spoke. "What's up with you? It wasn't like it was a hard job to do"

He sighed, "I guess not . . . you were in SOLDIER and it's hard for women to get to that" he watched as Cloude quickly finished her drink in one go. "Make sure you get your pay from Bernie"

"Don't worry" Cloude said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "Once I get that money, I am out of here".

Trey frowned sadly as Cloude got to her feet. He was concerned for his friend, so he asked if she was ok. Cloude glanced at him and smiled, "Yeah . . . why?"

"No reason" Trey said, looking away and picking up another glass to dry, "You just look tired I guess"

Cloude winced as the glass made a squeaking noise. She knew that Trey was a worrier. Not letting it get to her, she followed the rest of the team down into the underground HQ. She saw the rest of the team sat around waiting for her to arrive. Bernie was taking her frustration out on a punch bag that was set in the corner of the room, Marley was examining his flower from all angles like he had never seen one before, Jesse was watching the news that was playing on the large screen television, a picture of an explosion set behind the newsreader and Biggs and Wedge were sat at the table, arguing in low voices. As Cloude stepped away from the pinball machine, Bernie turned to her. "Hey, Cloude. I wanna ask you something"

The blonde stepped closer, wondering what the black woman wanted to know. If it was about lowering the amount of her cash or delaying her payment, then she was not going to co-operate. Maybe that was why she had Marley down here, thinking that Cloude wouldn't start an argument in front of a four year old – and she was right. But she listened anyway.

"Listen, there wasn't anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today was there?"

Oh, is that all she wanted to know? Cloude shook her head, "None" she replied, "I'm positive"

Bernie punched the brown bag once, making Biggs and Wedge jump, "You sure?" she said.

Cloude nodded, "Yup. If there was anyone from SOLDIER, you wouldn't be standing here now"

Bernie snorted, "Don't be thinking you're all high and mighty just because you were in SOLDIER".

Just then, Wedge's and Biggs' argument became louder. They stood up, Wedge pushing Biggs hard enough for her to fall backwards into Bernie who just flung out her arm and threw the smaller woman aside into the wall. The interruption didn't deter Bernie from the conversation, "Yeh, you're strong, but don't forget. Yer skinny ass's working for AVALANCHE now. Don't get any ideas about hanging onto Shinra!"

Cloude looked up furiously, "Staying with Shinra?" she snapped, her eyes flashing, "You asked me a question and I answered it . . . that was all" she crossly made her way over to the other, not caring how much difference they were in height, and stared dangerously into the others eyes, "I'm going up stairs, I want to talk about my money". She turned on her heel just as Trey descended down. Cloude pushed by him and went over to the game machine.

"Cloude" Trey said, sounding hurt, "Wait"

Bernie scoffed, "Let her go. Looks like she still misses Shinra"

"Shut up" Cloude snarled, not turning around, "I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER! But don't get me wrong" she said coldly, turning to them briefly, "I don't care about AVALANCHE or the planet either". She then slammed the button so hard, that a crack appeared next to it. But she didn't care as she went up, feeling Bernie's glare on her back. She reached the bar and looked around. Man, how she hated this place and how she hated _them_. She was thankful to be going; she would even pay to have left earlier. As she went over to the door, the secret entrance to the HQ came back up and Trey ran out. He grabbed Cloude's arm and turned her around. He looked nervous but determined to say what he wanted to say. "Listen" he said as he let go of her arm, she looked away, "I'm asking you, Cloude. Please join us"

"Sorry, Trey" she said, taking two steps backwards away from him. She kept her gaze to the floor, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"The planet is dying" Trey continued, not taking any steps forward, "Slowly, but it is dying. Someone has to do something"

"So let Bernie and the rest of them deal with it" Cloude said sourly, "I don't see why I have to have a role in this", and she turned on her heel and headed for the door. Just as she touched the handle, Trey said angrily, "So that's it, eh? You're just going to leave? You're just going to up and leave everyone? Even your childhood friend?"

"I'm sorry" Cloude said, her fingers wrapping tightly around the handle.

Trey sighed, "You forgot the promise too" he said sadly.

She turned around fully and tilted her head to the side. "Promise?"

"You DID forget?" Trey said, sounding both hurt and angry, "Don't you remember? It was seven years ago"

Cloude racked her brains. The image of a sapphire blue sky painted with stars formed in her head. So did a brown well and houses.

"The well?" Cloude tested.

"You do remember" Trey smiled.

Cloude nodded slowly, "Yeah back then . . . I thought you were never going to come, I was starting to get a little cold" . . .

_A small figure was sat at the base of a brown well, swinging her feet and trying to ignore how numb her legs felt. She should have brought a coat with her, but she didn't think she would have needed it. She was wearing a sky blue dress and it wasn't suited to the cold air. She glanced around, her shoulder length blonde hair blowing in the wind. Houses around them still had lights on, it was late but it was still light enough to see ok. As she considered going back home, a small voice piped up, "Sorry I'm late"_

_Cloude didn't look up as the young boy walked over and sat down beside her. He was a little shorter than her but neither of them minded. He wore a black shirt and a pair of moss green shorts. He tilted his neck back and looked at the stars. _

"_You said you wanted to talk about something?" he asked, side glancing at the girl. _

"_Come this spring" Cloude said softly, "I'm leaving for Midgar" _

"_Everyone seems to be leaving" Trey said sadly._

_Cloude shook her head, "No, I'm not leaving for just a job. I'm different from the rest of them" she stood up and turned to Trey who still had his eyes turned to the sky, "I'm going to join SOLDIER!" when Trey did not say anything, Cloude continued, "I'm going to be great, just like Sephira"_

"_Sephira?" Trey whispered, "The Great Sephira?"_

_Cloude nodded and walked around the well, going up the ladder and sitting on top, looking down at Trey who now met her eyes. "Isn't it hard for girls to join SOLDIER?" Trey asked._

_Cloude nodded again, "It's hard for everyone, male or female, so I probably may not come back here for a while" she said._

_Trey snickered, "Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?" he asked._

"_I'll try" Cloude said, "Just wait. I'll be great! I'll show everybody that I'm not worthless. I want to help everyone and . . . I want to help you"_

"_Me?" Trey asked, "Why do you want to help me?"_

"_I couldn't help you when you fell" Cloude said softly, "I tried, but I was too weak. I know . . . I know you can look after yourself . . . you're strong. But just once, I want to help you. I want to make up for my failure of not being able to stop you from getting hurt" _

_Trey smiled, "Ok" he said, "Then let's make a promise" he tilted his head to the side and said, "When you've become great and powerful and have helped everyone, come back to me and help me whenever I'm in trouble"_

"_Huh?" Cloude muttered, blushing. _

"_Just promise" Trey said, looking at his feet, "My accident wasn't your fault, but if you want to help me, then let's promise each other. I'll let you help me when you've become a member of SOLDIER"_

_Cloude hid her face, "O-OK" she stammered, "I promise"._

Once the memory disappeared, Cloude looked at the now grown up Trey who had been watching her intently.

"You remember now, don't you?" he asked, "Our promise?"

"I'm not a big hero, I haven't helped anyone" Cloude said, "I can't keep that promise"

Trey frowned and crossed his arms, "You're in SOLDIER" he pointed out, "You may have not helped many but you can keep to your promise to help _me_. I will follow AVALANCHE wherever it goes, my heart and soul is into it and I need help, we all need help. If you join us, you can keep to our promise, I'm sure I'm going to need your help sooner or later" he then smiled shortly, "C'mon, you can't back out of the promise now SOLDIER Cloude"

Cloude blushed, just as she had all those years ago. It seemed that Trey still had that power to do that to her. She was left speechless and Trey gently smiled at her, waiting for her to speak. But before words had formed in her throat, Bernie had climbed her way out of the entrance of the HQ.

"Wait a sec you waste of space" she said, "Here" she threw a brown bag at Cloude who just managed to catch it. She opened it up and found a stash of gold coins, glinting back at her. This didn't look right. She snapped her head back up to Bernie and frowned. "This is my pay?" she said, "Are you serious? Don't make me laugh". Trey looked aghast as Cloude continued, "As much as I want to leave, I don't want to leave a mission half-assed. You got summit else lined up? I'll do it for three thousand"

Bernie stamped her foot. "What?" she barked, her eyes blazing.

Trey took a step towards Bernie and laid a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. "Calm down" he said, and then in a whisper, "Look, we really need the help, right?"

Cloude watched as Bernie whispered back angrily, "That's money for Marley's schooling!" she glared at the unconcerned blonde and said, "Two thousand, I'm going no higher than that!"

Cloude was about to argue, but quickly realised that she wasn't going to get a better offer than that. "Fine" she said, "But don't expect me to follow orders this time, I do things my way"

Trey breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you" he said. He slapped his hands together, rubbed them and said, "Ok, I'll be chef. We'll have supper and then off to bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow"

_Sorry for the slow chapter, but I can only follow the plot of the game :)_

_Keza xXx_


	6. Chapter Five

Fantasy Twist

_I'm not going to put much detail into how Materia works. I'm just gunna do it this way . . . hope you still enjoy_

**Chapter Five**

Cloude woke up in a corner of the HQ the next morning. All of the beds in the bedrooms had been taken up and she refused to take any notice when Trey said she could have his bed and that he'll sleep on the floor. Her neck was stiff and she rubbed her hand along the back of it, tying to sooth it. She got to her feet and stretched out her cramped muscles. Picking up her sword, she gave it a little rub with the hem of her shirt before she attached it to her back.

"Once this is done, I'm outta here" she muttered to herself as she went over to the pinball machine and pressed the button.

Trey and Bernie were waiting for her when she reached the pub floor. Little Marley was behind the bar, cleaning glass's and organising stock. Cloude briefly wondered why such a young boy was doing such tasks when Bernie spoke.

"Our target is the Sector Five Reactor. Get to the station first. I'll fill you in on the details there" she glanced quickly at Marley, who was too absorbed in his tasks to even listen. She then looked nervous, "Look, I erm . . . I don't really know how to use Materia. Could you tell me?"

Cloude raised an eyebrow, "We're on nice speaking terms now are we?"

Bernie frowned, "Look, I'll give you the Materia I found yesterday if you'll just show me"

Cloude sighed, "Sure. Look it's pretty simple. See these bangles we're wearing? The bronze ones. The Materia fit in the little holes inside them. The one I have on has a Thunder Materia in it. I also have a Restore one in it too. Thunder for attacking, Restore to, well, restore health basically. When you want to remove it, just press the Materia you want out hard and it'll come out. And you push it back in when you want it in, see?" as she demonstrated, Bernie made noises of understanding and nodded. "It may be wise to not overload your weapon or bangle with too much magic Materia, as they may all react badly with each other. Try and mix them all up. When you want to summon one, - this may sound corny – but use your body to summon it. The bangle or weapon will react to you and awaken. Once you get used to being able to choose which Materia you want to summon, it'll be easier and faster." Cloude sighed, "That's basically it. Just let me know when you get confused"

"When?" Bernie scoffed, "You make it sound like I'll have difficulty doing it. Shit . . . I never knew it was that simple"

"I'm coming with you this time" Trey said, "I won't hold you back, I need to keep you girls in check. And I know how to use Materia perfectly well, no need to tell me. I got a message from the man at the weapons shop, said he had something that might interest us. Let's not forget to go there, ok?"

He glanced over his shoulder and said, "Marley! Can you watch the bar while we're gone? Don't worry, Jenny will come in and check on you every hour, I had a word with her"

"Sure" Marley said enthusiastically, "No problem"

Cloude turned to Bernie, "Keep the Materia you found, you're gunna need it"

Bernie nodded as she took the clear blue ball out of her pocket and held it in her hand. "Water?" she asked.

Cloude shook her head, "Looks like Ice" she answered, "Just don't use it on us, ok?"

"I'm not stupid" Bernie scoffed, pressing the Materia into her bangle.

"Right" Trey beamed, putting his red gloves on, "Shall we get going?"

The two women nodded as Bernie took the lead in getting out of the bar. "See you later, Marl" she called.

"See ya, momma" Marley shouted as the doors closed behind them.

Ahead of them was a tall building of green and grey. This was the weapons shop and they made their way over to it, going to see what the owner wanted to give to them. They entered a grey, dark room, a woman behind a desk covered in protective mesh. She waved them by as Trey went to speak to her.

"To the top" she informed them, blushing as Trey smiled and thanked her.

They climbed the steps and entered a room full of wooden crates and people chatting. Two children were scrapping with each other, trying to attack each other with Materia they had found. No one seemed to mind, children with Materia were not powerful enough to harm each other. Maybe a little scrape or cut, but nothing serious. The parents were whispering encouragement to their children, telling them to use their Materia. Cloude watched the young boy approach the girl who backed away slightly. But soon, the girl straightened up, used the Materia that was in her bangle and sent the young boy tumbling off the crate.

"I did it!" the young girl yelped as the parents cheered and the boy was helped to his feet by his father, laughing. Cloude wanted to inquire why parents were pitting their children against each other, but Trey answered for her. "People want to make sure their kids are protected" he said lowly, "You can never be sure what you're going to come across here in the Slums. It's best to make sure your kid knows how to defend themselves as soon as possible, or you may be sorry later"

Understanding but not fully agreeing, Cloud turned to a man that had a black dog sat next to him. The man was wearing dirty clothes and looked up when they neared.

"This is the beginner's hall" he said, "People come here when they want to learn to fight. Say, what's a little girl like yourself carrying that huge ass sword for?"

"L-little girl?" Cloude growled, "Say some more, I'll show you what me and this huge ass sword can do"

The man scoffed, "Maybe later Sweet Cheeks" he said, "If you're looking for the boss, he's right behind you"

Trey had to steer Cloude away from the man before she did something dangerous and stupid. Bernie however talked to the man sat in the corner, organising his Materia.

"You" she said, "You wanted to give us summit?"

The man looked up through his thick spectacles. He took them off, gave them a wipe on the hem of his shirt and replaced them. "Ah" he said, "You're the AVALANCHE leader right? Sure, I have something that might interest ya! If you don't want it, I'll keep it, but I really don't need it. It's an All Materia."

"Oh right" Cloude said, taking the blue orb in her hand and handing it to Trey who had none, "Thanks. It'll come in handy"

"Make sure you Master it" the man said, "Because when you do, it could be worth a lot. I'm sure more money will help you on your journey, we all want you to succeed"

"Don't worry" Bernie said, smiling, "AVALANCHE has yet to fail"

"Indeed" the man said, "Make sure you buy something at the counter before you leave. Tell her I've given you fifty per cent off the original price for whatever you buy"

"Oh" Trey said as he clicked the Materia into his glove rather than his bangle. "Thank you, I'm sure we'll buy plenty".

They left the room, Cloude glaring at the man with the dog before they left. They went over to the woman who looked up as they stopped in front of her.

"We've been informed to tell you that we're allowed fifty per cent off whatever we buy" Cloude said, "So what have you got?"

Feeling this was rude; Trey nudged Cloude aside and spoke instead. "Please. As you know we've got a very important journey ahead of us and we'd like to buy some things to help us on our way"

The elderly woman fluttered her eyelashes and smiled, "Of course," she said, "I have plenty of things to sell ya. Half price did you say? Of course. I've got Potions, Ethers, Antidotes, Phoenix Downs. You name it, we most likely have it"

"Phoenix Downs?" Bernie frowned, "Are you saying that we don't look strong enough and that we need to be revived if we're knocked out?"

"Bernie" Trey hissed, "I'm handing this. I have the Gil after all" he smiled back at the woman, "We'll have three of everything please. I have a little bag here attached to my belt, we don't need another one"

After buying their goods and Trey had delicately placed the little vials in his pouch, they set off again. Trey had even bought a Fire Materia – the only one they had for sale. He asked if they wanted it, but when they shook their heads, he pressed it into is glove alongside the All Materia. As they left the village, they met Biggs, Jesse and Wedge waiting for them near the tower.

"Coming too, Trey?" Jesse said, "Finally, I won't be surrounded by just women anymore"

Trey grinned, "You loved it really, Jesse. You're secretly disappointed I'm here"

They made their way back to the train station; the train they had arrived in was still there, taking on board passengers. The whistle blew as they arrived.

"Quickly, quickly" the train instructor shouted at them as they arrived, "It's setting off, c'mon!"

They all hauled in as the doors slid shut behind them. They all split up into different compartments to not arise too much suspicion. As they looked around, the once healthily occupied compartment suddenly because empty – aside from them. Bernie looked around and scowled, "Got all silent all of a sudden, why's that?"

"People think we're trouble makers" Trey said coolly, sitting down and crossing his arms and legs, "You'd leave too if you thought you were in the midst of people you thought were dangerous"

"So, what do we do now?" Cloude asked, leaning against a bar that people usually held onto when there were no seats available.

"Why so friggin' calm?" Bernie scowled, "You're busting my rhythm"

"So our next target?" Cloude said in a bored tone.

"Ha" Bernie said, "Look at Little-Miss-Serious-About-Her-Work talk" she chuckled and said, "Ok, I'll tell ya. Shinra is onto us, our fake ID's won't work anymore. I'm sure you know about those stupid security scans they perform? We bail before we hit it"

Trey looked at his watch, "We have about three minutes until then" he said calmly, "Which means" he looked up at the blonde, "We'll soon have to jump off this train. If we don't, Shinra Police will be onto us quicker than we can say AVALANCHE" he then got to his feet and went over to the screen that Jesse had shown Cloude the other day. "Cloude, come over here. Let me show you this"

"Seen it" Cloude said, slowly walking over to him, "It was pretty boring"

Trey smirked, "You would say that. I'm guessing Jesse showed you this? He knows more about it than I do but let's see if I can get to the bits he missed out. Come a little closer, make sure you can see"

As Cloude stepped to Trey's side, the train jolted and a blaring sound surrounded the train, accompanied by the red flashing light that had appeared the day before. They both jumped, looking around shocked.

"The security check" Trey breathed, "But . . . it's not supposed to scan until further down"

"Type A security alert!" A female voice screeched, "Unidentified passengers confirmed. A search of all cars will be conducted!"

Bernie reached them just as Jesse ran into the compartment. "What's going on?" she asked the man.

"We're in a heap of trouble" the young man said, "Hurry! I'll explain later, into the next compartment!"

They followed at top speed, the alarms getting louder. The female voice confirmed that the unidentified passengers were in carriage 1 and was due to lock down the doors. They escaped the compartment just as the locks on the door clicked.

"C'mon" Biggs shouted, running, "They're gunna lock the doors down one by one as we're moving. We haven't got time to stand around"

"Just run" Jesse yelled as they were told that carriage 2 was set to lock down. They pelted down the carriage, people yelling at them to stop, but nobody actually making them do so. The next compartment wasn't blaring red lights. So they caught their breaths.

"Does this mean we're clear?" Bernie asked, clutching at her chest.

"Not yet" Jesse said, "They're just doing another check! If they catch us, we're done for!"

"But if we move up the train, hopefully we'll pass it" Trey said.

Suddenly the lights were red again, the female voice telling them that their tracks were being followed. They pushed a man out of the way as they hurtled down the carriage and through the door that had just locked down. But they didn't stop as the alarms followed them. They continued running through the next door.

"If I get caught doing this job" Cloude growled, "For such little money, I am going to kill you, Bernie"

"Shut up and keep running" Bernie snapped, "We'll deal out death threats as soon as we're outta here"

Through compartments they went, until they reached the last one, sweating and their chests heaving. Bernie ran to the end of it, "Right we made it" she said. She turned to the door and jammed her finger nails into the crack, trying to open it. Trey helped and soon they had it open, people yelling at them as they did so.

"Cloude you first" Trey said as the wind whipped past them, blowing their hair around them, holding his hand out to her "We'll be right behind. Quick"

"You don't care if I go first?" Cloude asked Bernie who shook her head. "A leader is the last to leave. I'll stay until yeh all off. Now go! Just don't go getting your spiky ass hurt"

Cloude mock saluted as she went over to the exit, the wind whipping her face and making her eyes water. She turned to Trey, "Right after me! You got that?" she said.

"Yeah" Trey said, "Now go, we don't have time to be chatting"

And with that said, Cloude jumped, but she felt Trey's hand on her back, pushing her out. She landed awkwardly, not foretelling the long drop that she had to endure. She landed almost cat like under the tracks in a spotlight lit tunnel, the walls and floors made out of steel. Just as she stood up, Trey landed skilfully further down the tunnel.

"You ok?" he shouted at her, his voice echoing as he jogged towards her.

"Yeah" she said as they heard Bernie curse further down the tunnel as she too landed, "You?"

"Not a scratch" Trey said, "Jesse and the rest are staying on the train, they know what to do"

"Oi love birds" Bernie scowled, storming over to them, "We still got a mission to do. So far, things are going well. Things are going to plan. It was a minor hiccup that happened on that train but we managed to get it sorted out. Better not let your guards down until we reach Sector Five. We got a long way to walk and I'm sure Shinra have got all sorts of robots and monsters prowling around here. The rest have things sorted for us, now let's go!"

"You know which direction we're going, right?" Cloude asked as they sprinted down the tunnel, "You're not going to lead us to the wrong place?"

"I'm not stupid" Bernie snarled, hitting the blonde over the head lightly with her gun arm, "You just keep yeh trap shut and follow my orders"

"Dammit" Trey growled, sliding to a halt and raising his fists in front of him, "Lasers. We can't get past". They stopped around the bend where Trey was right. Thick, green lasers that came from the walls were blocking their path. One look told them that they would be fool to try and walk through them.

"Anyway we can get past them?" Bernie said.

"Not unless you're a champion at limbo" Cloude said, inspecting the lasers closely, "No, we need another route. There's no way we can get past them".

"But the reactor is straight down this tunnel" Bernie said, "Shit"

"Look" Trey said, kneeling down near a small, thin shaft, "I wonder where this leads?"

"That small hole?" Bernie scowled, "We can't get down there, we dunno where it ends up"

"It's our only way" Cloude said, "We'll have to go under the plate. It looks smooth, I didn't think anything's gunna stop us sliding down it"

"But if we go down, we won't be able to get back up" Trey said, "And what if we end up somewhere we can't get out of?"

Bernie paced, looking at the hole and back at the lasers. "Let's not waste time" she said, "If we linger, Shinra will be onto us. What we gunna do? Go down?"

"I'll go" Cloude said, shifting her body so that her legs were in the hole, "I'll call up if it's ok. If not, you two find another way to the reactor"

"You sure?" Trey said, "I'll go down instead it you wan-"

But he hadn't managed to finish his sentence as Cloude pushed forwards and hurtled out of sight and down the pipe.


	7. Chapter Six

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Six**

She was falling quickly; the ride was straight down, no corners to stop her going. The ride was rather short because soon she had dropped to her feet. She didn't need to pull out her sword as she had landed in an empty vent, a set of ladders at the end leading further down. Wiping herself down un-necessarily, she called up the vent to the other two.

"All clear" she shouted up to them. And she stepped back as she heard Bernie swear when she tumbled out of the vent and then watched as Trey gracefully followed.

"Great" Bernie muttered, "Now where are we?"

"We'll find out as soon as we go down these steps" Trey said, walking over to the ladder and looking down, "It doesn't look too far, I can see a floor, but it looks like it may lead to another ladder. I'll go first"

He disappeared out of sight and shouted, "Yep, just as I thought. C'mon!" They followed, and as soon as they came down the first set of ladders, Trey was already halfway down the others. Cloude looked around; they had seemed to have arrived in a large basement of some sort, ladders and steps everywhere. The ladder wasn't far so she jumped, landing at the same time as Trey who seemed shocked for a second when he turned around to see her stood there.

"Don't do things simply, do you?" he said as Bernie began her descent of the ladder.

Cloude turned to look at him and shrugged, "You hired a SOLDIER, you get a SOLDIER" she said. She looked around and noticed another set of ladders, longer than the ones they had just came down. Trey followed her gaze and nodded, confirming that was where they were to head to next. Bernie dropped down next to them and put a finger to her frowning lips.

"There's a watchman over there" she hissed, pointing far across the room where a man sat at a desk, reading what looked like a pornography magazine. "Do not get seen or heard by him. If I remember correctly, that ladder over there will get us to the rest of the gang"

"I think we've come to that conclusion already" Cloude muttered, taking the lead, and keeping her head low she silently ran over to the base of the ladder and testing the rungs to make sure they did not creak. After ensuring that they didn't, with one last glance at the watchman, she made her way up, followed by Trey. The top of the ladder led to a vent where they had to crawl thorough to get to the end. The vent wasn't too long, it ended after a few seconds and they came to a room where a hand was offered out in front of her. She glanced up quickly and saw Jesse stood there, hand outstretched and mouth curled in a sweet smile. "Need a hand?" he said.

She shook her head and got to her feet by herself. When Bernie arrived, she glared at Jesse who shuddered and took a step backwards, "Sorry" he mumbled, "The ID scan problem was my fault. I must have just messed up when I made them of something" he frowned, "The ladder is over there. You'll meet Biggs down there".

They followed where he had pointed to the over side of the room. They did indeed meet Biggs down there, standing below another ladder. "We're gunna pull out in a sec" she said, "We need to be out when you set the bomb to blow the Reactor. We'll meet you back at headquarters"

She left as they went up the ladder that led to another vent they had to crawl through. Once they had left the vent, they come across the large reactor, emitting green smoke from the top of it. It was a network of ladders, steps and walkways to get to the Reactor. The first way down was down a long slide to reach the bottom. Soon, they reached the base of the Reactor, ready to blow it up like the last one. But as they ran, Cloude suddenly stopped in her tracks, clutching her head. Both Trey and Bernie stopped a few feet in front of her and turned around.

"Cloude?" Trey said, looking worried, "CLOUDE!"

Her name being shouted was the last thing she heard before she fell to her knees and blacked out.

She wasn't sure if it was a dream or not, but when she opened her eyes, she was not where she had fell unconscious. If fact, she knew she was in a different place completely. She was stood on a long pipe, machinery all around her, smaller pipes making clunking noises and releasing air. She looked up and saw a figure crumpled to the ground ahead of her. This person was not moving, covered in red, a long, thin sword poking out of his body.

"D-dad?" whimpered a boy that was knelt next to the man, and it took Cloude a while to realise it was Trey. He looked younger, smaller and less built but he was still good looking as ever. He was wearing a cowboy outfit, browns and whites, the hat thrown to the side. He looked no older than fifteen. Did this mean that this was a flashback? "Sephira did this to you right? She – she did this?" Trey scowled. The man on the floor didn't react as his son growled and shouted his next statement. "Sephira . . . SOLDIER . . . Mako Reactors . . . Shinra . . . Everything! I HATE THEM ALL!"

He slammed the ground with his fist, his knuckles cracking and echoing around the room. He shook with anger, his teeth ground together and his eyes blazing with pure hate. He slowly got to his feet, staring down sadly at his dead father. He wrenched the sword that was sticking out of his father's back and whispered, "I'll make them all pay, father". He ran through the door, the sword dangling by his side. As he ran, Cloude tried to run after him, tried to call his name, but her vision was becoming blurry then black.

Her eyes fluttered open, Bernie's and Trey's adult face peering down at her, both concerned. She groaned and shielded her eyes from the abuse of bright light that was shining down on her.

"Dammit girl" Bernie growled, turning from worried to furious as fast as a finger click, "Get a hold of yourself!"

"You all right?" Trey asked, helping Cloude up in a sitting position, holding up her weight.

"T . . . Trey?" Cloude muttered, confused and dazed. What was it that she had seen? Had she just witnessed the death of Trey's father? She knew that Trey's father was dead, but he had never told her how he had died. She had presumed he had left the world when their home town was destroyed all those years ago.

Trey's eyes widened, "Yeah?" he said.

Cloude shook her head, figuring it must all have just been a dream concocted by her tired brain. She slowly got to her feet; pushing aside Trey's helping hands. "No" she said, "Forget it. C'mon, let's hurry"

Trey looked worried – as usual – but let her get up by herself and watched as she handled the bomb they were about to set. Cloude pushed past him and went over to the base of the Reactor, not letting some dumb vision come in the way of her mission. She jammed in a few codes with her shaking fingers and stood up when it beeped.

"Right" Bernie said, "Then let's get out of here. It's a miracle we haven't been spotted or attacked yet"

"They'll be on to us now" Trey said, still looking rather worried but determined, "We'll have to fight tooth and nail to get out of here"

And he was right, no sooner had they taken a few steps when two red lion like beasts with long, rat like tails hurtled around the corner, their teeth long and sharp. They both snarled and snapped at them, their tails flicking violently from side to side. Before Cloude could retrieve her sword, Trey had already attacked, his fists pummelling the body of the nearest animal, dodging their teeth as he went. The other jumped to help out its comrade, its teeth digging deep into Trey's leg. He yelped as blood oozed out of his torn trousers. Bernie ran over and sent a mountain of bullets into the attacking monsters head, its head caving in due to the pressure. Its body limply fell to the side. Before the other beast realised it was free to attack, Cloude ran ahead and drove the point of her weapon into its chest, its yellow eyes wide and shocked. It snapped at them until its dying breath where its body went limp on the end of the sword. Cloude kicked it off as Trey healed his wound with a Potion.

Once his bite mark had been healed, they set off again, up and across ladders and beams until they reached a lift. Pressing the button, they waited as they reached the next floor. Running down the corridor, they came across a door, but no matter what they did, it didn't open.

"Shit" Bernie snarled, "There must be a way"

"Over here" Trey said from far away, inspecting a motherboard of buttons and switches, his hand on his chin, "Something here must open it"

He pressed one of the six blue buttons but nothing happened. His eyes quickly glanced around them and they widened in realisation. "This is what Jesse was telling me about. He said something about this, about us having to press all of the blue buttons at the same time. Look, there are six of them, we'll have two each. C'mere, we can do this"

They crowded around the contraption, Cloude the opposite side of the other two. In front of each of them were two large, bright blue buttons that seemed to stick out from the rest. She hovered her hands over them and looked up, waiting for the signal to press them.

"On the count of three, we hit on three!" Trey said, "One . . . two . . . th- Bernie! I said on three, not before!"

Bernie blushed, taking her hand and gunhand from off the buttons that she had slammed a bit too early. "Sorry" she said, "Nerves I guess"

Trey sighed, "Ok, again. _On_ three remember? Good! Ok, one . . . two . . . three!"

They all pressed, but someone must have been off time because the door did not open. Growling in frustration, Trey counted down again, but as before, the doors did not open when Bernie, once again, pressed a little too early.

"We're gunna be here all day" Trey snapped angrily, flexing his arms, the muscles rippling, "Come on, concentrate!"

It took them three more go's, each of them being off time, Cloude totally missing the last one because her mind had momentarily wavered, before they had managed to hit all six buttons at the same time, the door sliding open. Looking relieved and his anger dwindling, Trey led the way. Almost automatically he came across two red guards, holding guns at him.

Cracking his knuckles, Trey punched the first once directly in the face, the power behind his attack leaving the guard dazed, his gun flying across the room. A swift kick to the abdomen ensured that the guard would not get up again for a while. Trey dodged a rain of bullets that had been fired at him and performed a roundhouse kick, sending the guard skidding across the room where his head cracked against a wall, his body going limp. This all happened before Cloude and Bernie had even rounded the corner while following Trey. They found him dusting off his gloved hands with a look of nonchalance on his face. "I feel better now" he said calmly as Cloude replaced her sword on her back, the noises of the fight forcing her to grab it. But as soon as she had replaced it, a machine gun had flipped itself from the floor, instantly showering them with bullets. Trey jumped in the air as the girls ducked, all of them narrowly getting away from the attack. Trey landed on the machine gun, flipping it around do that its shower of bullets was aimed away from them and was hitting the wall. Cloude, who quickly retrieved her sword as she ducked, ran forwards and slammed the blade side of her sword down onto the machine gun, slicing it down the middle in two. The rain of bullets stopped and the contraption died with a tiny explosion.

They quickly ran through the door to their right, immediately coming across another red lion beast. But it didn't pose as a threat when it was instantly shot down by Bernie. They ran down the steps, instantly coming to a bridge that sectioned off into two, one left and one right.

"Take the left" Bernie yelled as they came to the split, but as they did, they had to stop in their tracks as six red clad guards blocked their path, each of them holding powerful guns in their hands. "Shinra Soldiers" Bernie spat, backing away, "Shit, what is this?"

"A trap" Cloude scowled, clenching her fists, knowing that they couldn't possible take on all of the guards and come away free.

As they went to back away from the guards, loud, echoing footsteps came their way. They were coming across the bridge that the gang had come down. They glanced up and saw a large figure in a red suit slowly waking over, his greying blond hair short and slicked back and under his nose was a toothbrush like moustache. His blue eyes were squinted slightly and his mouth was set in a deep frown.

"Pres- President Shinra!" Bernie breathed.

The President then smirked as he continued walking. Trey walked over to stand beside Bernie, "What is the President doing here?" he asked.

The President stopped walking when he was halfway across the bridge. He crossed his arms and glared at the three of them, surveying them carefully. His piggy eyes lingered slightly longer than needed on the women's bodies. "So" he said lightly, "You must be that . . . what was it again?"

"AVALANCHE!" Bernie roared, taking a step towards the President, Trey placing a hand on her arm to stop her making a fool of herself. But Bernie continued talking, "We're AVALANCHE! And don't you forget it! President Shinra Huh? What's your business here?"

Cloude however stepped forward, making Trey hiss at her to come back. But she ignored him; her blue eyes were locked on the President, her lips in a thin line. The Presidents greedy eyes watched her as she neared.

"Long time no see, President" Cloude said calmly, stopping in her tracks.

The President seemed confused for a moment, "Long time no see? Oh . . . You. You're the one who quit SOLDIER and joined this terrorist group. Your eyes, I knew you were exposed to Mako because of them. Tell me traitor, what is your name?"

Cloude frowned, "Cloude"

The President chuckled, "Forgive me for asking, but you cannot expect me to remember everyone's names . . . unless you become another Sephira" he sighed dreamily, "Ah yes, Sephira. She was brilliant . . . perhaps _too_ brilliant"

Cloude took a step back from the President, ignoring Trey's hisses for her to come back, "Sephira?" she said. But Bernie had had enough, she pushed past Cloude and yelled, "We don't give a damn about all of that! This place is about to go up with a big BOOM soon. Heh, serves you all right!"

The President sighed, "Such a good waste of fireworks just to get rid of a bit of vermin like you"

Bernie blinked, "VERMIN!" she snapped, "That's all you can say . . . vermin? It's you the Shinra that are vermin! Killing the planet and sucking out its energy! Therefore, that makes you King Vermin so shut up you jackass!"

The President sighed again, "You're beginning to bore me" he said softly, "I'm a very busy man, I have a meeting to attend too, so if you'll excuse me"

"Don't give me that shit! We're not done here!" Bernie snarled.

"But I've made arrangements for a playmate for you all" and he clicked his fingers.

The ground shook, the sound of gears and motors filling the air. The guards all smirked to one another and backed away out of sight. The trio turned their heads to the other side of the bridge, wondering.

"What's that noise?" Trey said.

The sound got faster and louder as Bernie ran to Trey's side. "What the hell is this?"

Suddenly a grey and red machine hurtled down the bridge, making Trey and Bernie split as it raged past them. It was tall and had two gigantic robotic fists, spikes protruding out of its body, holding it up was a large, solid, spherical wheel.

"Meet 'Airbuster'" President Shinra smiled, "A techno soldier. Our Weapon Development Department built him. I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will help us in our experiments greatly"

"Techno soldier?" Cloude whispered as another sound joined the motors of the Airbuster. A rush of powerful wind swept past them and they turned to find a helicopter emerging from below the bridge. The propellers were loud and were making the air around them go wild. It was so loud, they hardly heard the President say his departing words. "Now then, if you'll excuse me"

"Wait!" Cloude shouted as a ladder was deployed from the helicopter and President Shinra grabbed hold of it. Cloude ran as the helicopter took up more height and speed and zoomed away, over their heads and out of sight. Cloude turned as the Airbuster made its way towards Bernie and Trey who were backing away from it.

"Shit" Bernie snarled, standing her ground and pointing her gun arm at the contraption as Trey raised his clenched fists in front of him, "All right team, let's do this!"


	8. Chapter Seven

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Seven**

The robot turned as Cloude ran over to help, sword gripped in her hand. Bernie coated the side of the Airbuster with bullet holes, but it didn't seem to faze it in the least. Trey fired up the Materia in his glove and a blast of red fire shot out at the robot, burning and curling is paintwork. Cloude yelled as she ran forwards and slammed down her sword on the robot, a long and deep scratch cutting through the metal. The Airbuster turned and slammed into her, knocking her off her feet. She rolled over in time as it went to run her over. A flash of weak Ice appeared out of nowhere, Bernie waking up her Materia and trying to meld together the bolts that were attached to the robots arms, making them immovable, but since she was a novice, it didn't go to plan. In response to the attack, the Airbuster turned around slowly and slammed into her also. She quickly got to her feet and prepared herself for her Limit Break as a ball of fire appeared at the end of her gunhand like it had before when she and Cloude has fought the robotic scorpion. She yelled as the fireball was thrown out of her gun and slammed into the robot, melting through the bodywork and into the mechanics inside. The robot didn't seem to like being attacked, so it shuddered and a bomb was thrown out of a little compartment in its side. The bomb dropped to a stop at Bernie's feet, and she just had time to kick it to the side and off the end of the bridge where it exploded mid-fall.

"Shit" she scowled as Trey used his Fire Materia again, "This thing is packin' bombs!"

Trey growled as he flexed his fingers and ran forwards, his gloves glowing as he pummelled the side of it, dent marks appearing in the bodywork where he had hit. His last strike went straight through the metal and he grabbed at something inside and pulled out some wiring and cords that were sparking. He threw them over the side of the bridge and jumped back.

The Airbuster shuddered, letting another bomb drop near Trey, but he did the same as what Bernie had did and kicked it aside before it blew up. As it was turned away, Cloude put aside her sword and attacked with her Bolt Materia, a blue bolt of lightning coming out of nowhere and striking the machine. The Airbuster shuddered again, but it did not turn around to counter attack, instead, its electrics were going wild, blue static surrounded it as smoke filtered out of the hole that Trey had given it. Its arms rotated, going wild, Bernie and Trey had to take quite a few steps away from it so they didn't get hit. Suddenly, it exploded, showering them in metal and mechanics, the part of the bridge it was on had collapsed. Trey and Bernie, who had used their arms to shield their faces, looked down when a slight yelp caught their ears.

"Cloude!" Trey screamed, running over to the edge of the blown out bridge and looking down. Cloude was dangling below them, holding on tightly to a bar that had been holding the bridge sturdy. The power of the explosion was swinging her body from side to side. She was only holding on with one hand since the other hand had hold of her swords handle. Sweat was breaking out over her forehead as she struggled to keep hold, Trey bent down on his hands and knees and trying to grab hold of her, but she was too far away.

"Trey" Bernie yelled, grabbing the man's shoulders, "This place is about to blow, don't you remember we set the bomb?"

But Trey didn't move, his eyes were wide and were staring at Cloude who put the sword on her back so that she could hold on with both hands, but she couldn't seem to reach.

"Bernie, can't you do something?" Trey spluttered, his arms shaking.

"Not a thing" Bernie said, her voice full of fear, "We have to go quick!"  
>"We can't leave her" Trey snarled, and he turned back to the struggling woman, "Cloude, don't you dare die, you can't die. There's so much I need to tell you!"<p>

"I know" Cloude grunted, her fingers slipping ever so slightly, "Damn"

"Hey" Bernie shouted, "You gunna be ok?"  
>"Yeah" Cloude replied, "Look, leave me, I'll be ok. You both need to get out of here!"<br>Trey shook his head as Bernie hauled him to his feet, "Ok, Trey, c'mon, you heard her, we need to get outta here. Cloude, look, I'm sorry we can't help you"

"Geez" Cloude said, trying to lighten to mood, "Stop talking like this is the end. Remind me never to rely on you when things get bad – gah!"

Trey shouted her name as her hand slipped, but she managed to get hold of the pole that was right underneath it. "Now get out of here!"

"Right" Bernie said strongly, "Good luck"

Suddenly, the Reactor exploded. Trey ripped himself from Bernie's hold and ran to the edge of the broken bridge, Bernie grabbed his arm as another set of explosions fired as Cloude let go, not able to hold anymore.

"CLOUDE!" Trey screamed as Bernie tugged him away, watching as Cloude's figure got smaller and smaller as she fell. She soon disappeared as she fell through the mist that was lingering below.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

_. . . . Are you all right? Can you hear me? _

. . . Yeah . . .

_Back then . . . you could get away with just skinned knees . . ._

What do you mean, 'back then'?

_What about now? Can you get up?_

What did you mean 'back then'? What about now?

_Don't worry about me, now, just worry about yourself._

I'll . . . I'll give it a try. . .

Oh it moved!

_How about that? Take it slow now. Little by little. _

I know . . .

Hello, hello?

Hey, who are you?

Hello! Hello!

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Her eyes fluttered open, dim light piercing her vision. A figure was looming over her, peering down with a mixture of worry and curiosity. Her body was hurting all over but where was she laid, it felt sort and . . . nice. She didn't want to move.

"You okay?" said the figure, his or her face coming into better perspective. She didn't recognise this face and she panicked, sitting upright faster than a finger click. She felt sick, the sudden movement making her stomach heave and her head spin. She placed a hand on her head and wearily looked around. She was in what seemed to be a church, but it was run down and debris was sprayed everywhere. She looked down where green, yellow and white hit her vision; she was sat on a large bed of flowers, bits of wood surrounding her. She looked up; the roof had a large hole in it.

"Are you ok?" the voice said again and Cloude looked over her shoulder at the speaker.

It was a man, not much older than her, but apart from his clothes, he seemed a little feminine. His jacket was red, shirt beige and his trousers and boots were light brown. His hair was reddish-brown and set in a little, single curled ponytail, and his fridge long and parted to show the man's curious, large green eyes.

She must have looked stupid as the man told her where she was, "You're in the Sector Five Slums" he looked up at the roof and placed his hands behind his back, "You fell from the roof! Gave me a real good scare"

"I . . . came crashing down?" Cloude whispered to both the man and herself.

The man nodded, "You're really lucky. The roof and the flowerbed must have broken your fall"

"Flowerbed? Is this yours?" Cloude asked, looking down again. Feeling guilty, she quickly got to her feet and turned to the man, who was still looking at the hole in the roof, "Erm, sorry about that"

He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, "That's all right. The flowers are rather resilient as this is a sacred place" he chuckled and smiled, "People say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar. But for some reason, they seem to flourish here. They have no trouble blooming. I love it here; I tend to the flowers everyday"

"What a womanly thing to do" Cloude said before she could stop herself.

The man smiled, "I know. But since no one else will do it, I have to. I need money to help tend to them so I sell them for a Gil each. An old friend of mine suggested it" he bent down and straightened up a couple of flowers that had been bent when catching Cloude. He looked up and said, "So . . . we meet again huh?"

She blinked, staring at the man who continued tending the hurt flowers. Her mind was blank. But something about this effeminate man seemed to ring a bell, but nothing came. The man stood up and tilted his head to the side. "Don't you remember me? A fully grown man with flowers can't be hard to forget around here"

"Oh yeah" Cloude said, the flowers tipping her off, "You were selling them, I bought one off you". The man grinned, his face exploded with happiness. He was the first person she had met after they had blown up the Reactor; he had come over to her asking what had happened. His appearance hadn't changed much. He was still wearing the same clothes, but in the light she could see him better. He wore a black, thick choker around his neck and was wearing a gold chain bracelet on one wrist and a Materia bangle on the other. His hair was tied back with a piece of red string. Also, the cuffs of his red jacket where it ended at his elbows were ended with studded silver metal.

"I'm so happy you remember" he said, "Thanks for buying a flower, not many people do" he suddenly looked a little serious, "Hey, by any chance, do you have any Materia?"

"Some" Cloude said, indicating to her bangle. "Nowadays you can find Materia almost anywhere. They also come rather cheap, depending on its power"

The man chuckled, "Mine is special because it's good for absolutely nothing"

He held up his arm and showed her the child sized Materia bangle that was on his wrist. It was bronze and it had a large crack down the centre of it. But inside, it held one bright green Materia orb.

"Useless?" Cloude said, holding the man's hand closer to her eyes so she could get a better look, "Nah, you probably don't know how yo use it, or maybe because this bangle is broken"

"No" he said, "I know how to use it and other Materia work fine in this bangle. But I feel safe with it; it used to belong to my mother. I found this bangle not long ago in the rubbish that someone had dropped outside. I was moving it when it fell out. I used it because I had been keeping the Materia in my pocket" He looked back up at the hole in the roof and back down at the blonde again. "Say, I feel like talking. You up to it? After all, we have just met again, right?"

"Urm . . . No, I don't mind" Cloude smiled.

He grinned, "Oh, wait. We don't even know each other's names do we? How awkward" he flung out his hand and Cloude shook it, "Aris. Aris Gainsborough"

"Cloude Strife . . . I'm a mercenary. Used to be in SOLIDER"

"Mercenary?" Aris said, "Like a Jack of all trades?"

"Yeah, I do whatever is needed . . . at the right price of course"

Aris chuckled, hiding his mouth with his hand. Cloude wasn't sure whether to frown or not.

"What's so funny?" she asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry . . . I just-" but he stopped, looking over at the door. His bright, emerald eyes widened and Cloude followed his gaze. A tall and thin woman was stood there; neither of them heard or noticed that she had been stood there. She had long, crimson red hair, wore a navy blue suit and had red, crescent shaped tattoos under her blue-green eyes. "Don't let me interrupt you" she said coolly, "I was enjoying the conversation"

"Say, Cloude" Aris whispered, "Have you ever been a bodyguard?"

Cloude raised an eyebrow at her. A man asking a woman to be his bodyguard? Usually it was the other way around. But she had to admit, he didn't seem like someone who could fight well.

"You do DO everything, right?" he whispered more urgently.

"Yeah" she replied, "That's right"

"Then get me out of here" he said.

"Ok" she shrugged, "But it'll cost ya"

Aris thought for a moment, glancing at the red haired woman who was still silently watching them. He tapped his foot and placed his chin on his hand, thinking hard. Soon, he slammed his fist into his palm and said quickly, with no trace of embarrassment, "How about a date? You get me out of here and I'll pay you back with one date. Just one mind"

Cloude was taken back, a slight pink tinge accompanying her cheeks as she glared at Aris who just watched her, unblinkingly. She backed off a step and she decided to talk to the woman in the hopes of changing the subject.

"I don't know who you are" she said, "But-"

A flash of bright white light flicked across her eyes, and something whispered in her ear.

_I know you_

Cloude shook her head, "You don't know me, but I know what you are . . . that uniform"

The redhead began to chuckle just as three blue uniformed Shinra Guards came into the church, armed and stood behind the woman.

"Shut up you Shinra spy" Cloude snapped, "Stop laughing!"

"What a strange one we have here" the woman said coolly, brushing a hand through her long ponytail that was laid across her shoulder.

"Rena, want her taken out?" one of the guards said.

Rena turned to the guards and sighed, "I haven't decided yet" she said.

"Don't fight here" Aris called, "You'll damage the flowers" he turned on his heel and ran to the back of the church. Cloude turned to watch him and followed, seeing that Aris was running out of the back door. She turned around in time to see the guards hot on their trails.

_I really like the name Aris. I couldn't get a male name out of Aerith so I had to use Aeris instead – I just took the E out . . . and gave it to Cloude lol. _

_So, what do you think so far?_

_Keza xXx_


	9. Chapter Eight

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Eight**

"Those were . . . Mako eyes" Rena whispered, walking over to stand in the middle of the flowerbed. She turned to the guards and said, "Alright, back to work! Back to work!" she turned slowly around and walked to the exit where she saw the blonde woman turn around to look over her shoulder then out of sight when the guards began running over to her. "Oh" Rena added, "Don't step on the flowers"

"Hey Rena, you just stepped on them!"

"They're all ruined!"

"You're gunna catch Holy Hell!"

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Cloude ran after Aris, the back of the church just as run down as the front. A large hole was in the middle of the floor and Cloude jumped in to get to the ladders leading up. Aris however, hovered near the side.

"I can't jump that!" he shouted, his voice echoing, "Look, I'll go around, you just watch my back, ok?" he suddenly ran around the large hole as the blue clad guards and Rena arrived.

"The Ancient is getting away" Rena yelled, "Attack!"

Aris had jumped down to the bottom, under the hole so he could get to the ladder that could get him past the gap, but a guard had jumped down after him. Out of nowhere, sparkles of green and white appeared in Aris's hands and lengthened. The sparkles solidified, materialising into a stick. Cloude watched as Aris tried to fend off the guard with it. The stick was long and had unrecognisable symbols carved down it. It was then that Cloude realised that the stick was in fact as staff and Aris was a Mage. Well, he kept that quiet.

"Need help down here" Aris called up to her as the guard slowly approached him.

"Damn" Cloude snarled under her breath. She looked up to the top floor that was in fact, a square beam with barrels set on them. Suddenly, an idea came to her head.

"Just hold on" she shouted down as Aris hit the guard over the head, backing towards the ladders.

Cloude ran up the steps and across the beams, she went over to one of the barrels, picked it up and hovered over the guard trying to get to Aris. Aiming and hoping her plan worked, she dropped it over the edge where is soared down and crash landed on top of the guard, knocking him out cold. Not wasting a second, Aris turned and went up the ladder.

Cloude watched as he went up the ladder and came to a set of steps where another guard had appeared, blocking his path. Once again, Aris fended him off with his staff. Keeping to her original idea, Cloude grabbed another barrel and hurled it over the edge, where it landed on the staircase Aris and the guard was at and rolled down with alarming speed. Seeing it coming, Aris had time to jump out of the way as it thundered down, wiped out the guard and crashed into the far wall.

Sensing a pattern, Cloude ran and grabbed another barrel, lugging it over the edge as Aris reached the stairs and was getting chased by the final guard and hadn't realised. The barrel hit the guard straight in his chest and they both toppled down and landed in a heap at the foot of the stairs.

Keeping her eye out, Cloude watched as Aris ran around the edge of the church on the beam, jumped a small gap and up the ladders, joining her on the square frame.

"Thanks" he breathed, making the staff disappear the same way he had summoned it. "C'mon, out through the hole in the roof"

They ran across the beam, arms outstretched so that they didn't lose their balance. Rena shouted up curse words up at them, but they didn't listen as they jumped over to the hole and made their escape out of it, landing on the roof. The both collapsed on the roof, taking in air for their lungs. After a moment, Aris sat up from where he was laid and said quietly, "So, they're looking for me again?"

"This isn't the first time they've been after you?" Cloude asked, eyebrow raised.

"No" Aris said sadly.

"They're the Turks" Cloude said, surprised. "The Turks are an organisation in Shinra. They scout out possible candidates for SOLDIER"

"This violently?" Aris asked, "I thought they were kidnapping someone"

Cloude crossed her arms, "They're also involved in a lot of dirty stuff on the side. Murder, spying, you know . . ."

Aris frowned, getting to his feet, "They look like it"

"But . . . why are they after you? There must be a reason"

"No, not really. I think they believe I have what it takes to be in SOLIDER! But look at me, I don't like fighting"

Cloude nodded then said slowly, "Maybe not. Do you want to join them?"

Aris shrugged, "I . . . I dunno. I certainly don't want to be caught by THOSE people"

"Alright" Cloude smiled, "Then let's go. Before they wake up and follow us"

They turned and jumped from the church roof straight onto a mountain of broken metal and scaffolding. Cloude took the lead, not really knowing where she was going. She knew the Slums were pretty bad, but this was ridiculous. Aris followed, but each step and jump, he was falling behind, panting and holding a stitch in his side.

"Wait" he shouted as he followed Cloude jumping over the roofs of ruined houses and buildings, "Wait I said!"

Cloude stopped on top of what used to be a metal water well and turned to watch as Aris carefully and slowly jumped down from one roof to the other. He landed on his feet but gravity pulled him down, making him take a few guarded steps forwards, slamming into the side of the well that Cloude was perched on, looking down at him with her arms crossed, a smirk on her face. Aris crawled up to meet her and fell to his knees, still holding his side and gasping, head low.

"Slow . . . down" he wheezed, "Don't . . . don't leave me!"

"Funny" Cloude smiled, "I thought you were cut out to be in SOLDIER? If you can't keep up with me . . ."

Aris shakily got to his feet and frowned, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks, "Oh" he huffed, "You're terrible" they chuckled then Aris asked, "Cloude, you said you _used_ to be in SOLDIER?"

Cloude shrugged, "I used to be, yeah. Did the uniform tip you off?"

Aris shook his head, "No" he smiled, "Your eyes. They have that strange glow. . ."

Cloude nodded, "That's the sign of those that have been infused with Mako. A mark of SOLDIER. But, how did you know that?"

Aris blinked and looked away, "Oh . . . nothing" he said softly, "Come on, let's keep going . . . bodyguard"

Not questioning further, Cloude jumped down to the other side of the well and continued over the rooftops, Aris still behind her but keeping up this time. Once or twice he tripped up but he got to his feet before Cloude could retrace her steps and help him up. He had just told her he was fine and continued. They soon reached the end of the metal mountain and Cloude jump down, landing on the dirt path on her feet.

"Think you can get down without help?" Cloude joked up at Aris who was sitting on the edge of a roof, thinking that sliding down would be easier. Aris smiled and tumbled down and landed on his feet. Not as gracefully as the blonde as he wavered slightly, but at least he could do it himself.

"Ta-Da" Aris beamed, faking a dismount pose. He then looked around, "We made it. Phew. My house is this way. Come on"

It was like a maze. The place was covered in piles of metal and wood, reaching high up into the air. From here, under the plate, the sky could not even be seen, so they were shrouded in dim light. They went through a large metal door and took a right and soon ended up in a little community with makeshift houses and shops. They went past a pipe and heard something that made them stop. They looked in and frowned. A man was laid ill on a pile or rags, surrounded by little personal possessions and a small television set at his feet showing them the news. Aris frowned and said, "This guy are sick . . . erm, hang on. I must be tired, I can't even talk right, I meant, this guy _is_ sick. He passed out nearby so someone must have moved him here. All he does is make these little sounds like he's trying to speak, but nothing he says sounds like any words I know. Know a way we can help him?"

Cloude shook her head, "I'm no doctor . . ."

Aris nodded minutely, "I guess" his eyes then widened, "Look, he has a tattoo, look. The number two"

Cloude nodded, "Probably means nothing. Come on, let's keep going. We're doing nothing to help by just standing here"

"You're right" Aris said.

"Look, is there anywhere here that sells Materia?" Cloude asked, "Since you can't work the one you have, I'll feel happier if you had one that works"

Aris looked around and pointed at a squat building not far from where they stood. They made their way towards it and entered. A man by the till looked up as they went inside and his eyes lit up.

"Customers!" he beamed, waving them over, "If you want Materia, we got it. You can get anything in the Slums"

"Erm, how about Materia Bangles?" Cloude asked, "We've got Materia but my friend here has only a broken bronze bangle"

The man slapped his hands together and beamed. "Ah, bangles. I have the very thing" he ducked under his counter and retrieved a box full of bangles that were bronze and silver"

"A bronze one will do just fine" Cloude said, picking one up and handing it to Aris to see if he approved.

"But silver are more effective" the man said, taking one out to show them, "A little more expensive but you can get more Materia in them. Very handy. I know. How about a trade? One silver bangle for your two? Or one silver for a bronze and fifty Gil?"

"How about one bronze and no silver?" Cloude asked, getting rather annoyed.

"You know, Cloude" Aris said carefully, swapping the bronze bangle in his hands so that he could examine the silver one, "I think we could do with silver ones. They do look easier to use and can store more Materia in them. Hand him yours and I'll split the cost with you for two silvers"

Sighing, Cloude agreed. Taking off her bronze bangle, popping out the Materia and handing it over with fifty Gil as Aris dug deep into his pocket and handed the money for another. They left the shop a minute later with a silver bangle each on their arms. Cloude had put her Materia into her bangle, but Aris, still wearing the broken bronze one on his wrist hadn't switched his Materia in it to the silver one.

They travelled to the edge of the little community, a little further away from it stood a little, two floor cottage made of wood and brick rather than metal like all of the others. Flowers adorned the little bit of field that was beside it, Cloude guessing that Aris must have grown them here too. They were all yellow, getting a bit of sun that had managed to creep past the plate.

"Well" Aris said, looking up happily at the red roofed house, "This is my place. I live here with my mother. Would you like to come inside? I'm sure you're in need of a little rest"

Cloude looked around and shook her head, smiling politely, "Erm, sorry. I should really be going. I need to get in contact with the rest of my group"

"I see" Aris said slowly, "It's getting dark. C'mon, just for the night to get some rest. Then tomorrow you can head off bright and early. I'll even help you meet back up with the rest of your friends"

"They're not exactly friends, more associates. I don't make friends" Cloude said dully.

Aris smiled sadly, "Then what are we? Strangers? I'd like to think you count me as a friend"

Cloude turned away, not sure how to answer that. She looked up. Although the sky could not be seen, the light around the area was pretty dark, indicating that it was indeed nearly night time. She looked back at Aris, who was still grinning, a hand on the handle of his front door.

"Ok, you've twisted my arm" Cloude said, "I'll just pop in for a minute"

"Great" Aris beamed, gently taking hold of Cloude's hand and guiding her into the house.

Aris's house was warm and cosy. The floor was made of crazy paving and the walls made of wood. A little circular table was placed in the front room. Flowers were in vases and pots around the room; it seemed that Aris liked flowers more than he was willing to let on. To the right was a small kitchen and at the far end of the room was a staircase leading up. He let go of her hand and called, "Mum, I'm home!"

A short woman with light brown hair came out of the kitchen. She was wearing a green dress with a white apron tied around her waist. In her hand was a soapy sponge and in the other was a half clean saucepan. Her brown eyes shone when she set her sights onto her son.

"Aris" she smiled, setting the sponge and pan aside and drying her hands on a tea towel. "I'm so glad you're home safe. It's late, I was getting worried" her eyes wandered to Cloude and they narrowed ever so slightly, "Who's your friend?"

Aris looked back at Cloude then to his mother, "This is Cloude. She's my bodyguard" he blushed when he said the last part, mumbling something about being able to handle himself.

"Bodyguard?" his mother cried, "You mean to tell me you were followed _again_?" she stepped forwards and placed her slightly still soapy hands onto Aris's face, turning his head from side to side to see if she could spot anything, "You're not hurt are you? You are all right?"

"Yeah mum, I'm fine" Aris said, blushing as he gently grasped his mother's hands and put them down. "I had Cloude with me"

She nodded and turned to the blonde. "Well thank you Cloude. I am Elmyra, Aris's mother. Now if you excuse me, I have something to do" She went over to the stairs and went up them, disappearing from sight. Aris turned to Cloude and tilted his head to the side as he wiped soap suds from his cheek. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Cloude looked around, her eyes lingering slightly on the door, "Is Sector Seven far from here?" she asked, "Only, I want to go to Trey's bar"

Aris smiled coyly, "Oh" he said, "Trey . . . is Trey a . . . boy?"

Cloude arched an eyebrow and said slowly, "Yeah"

Aris tilted his head to the other side playfully, "A boyfriend perhaps?"

"Boyfriend?" Cloude gasped, "On no, you're mistaken. Me and Trey are just childhood friends. Nothing like that goes on between us"

Aris chuckled, "You don't have to get that upset" he said, "Let's see, Sector Seven? I 'll show you the way, it's not far"

Cloude shook her head, "No, why do you want to put yourself into more danger?"

Aris shrugged casually, "I'm used to it"

"Used . . . to it?" Cloude frowned, "Well, I dunno. Getting help from someone who can't even fight . . ."

Aris gasped, "What do you mean by that?" he asked, faking at being offended by the blonde's words, "Oh, I am not taking that lying down. I am taking you to Sector Seven now if you like it or not" he turned around and shouted up the stairs, "Mum! I'm taking Cloude to Sector Seven. I won't be long!"

"Oh no" Elmyra called, coming down the stairs in a hurry, "If you must go, do it tomorrow. It's late. Cloude could use the spare bedroom if she likes"

Aris nodded at his mother, "Sure" he said, "That seems cool. Hey, c'mon you, I'll show you where you're sleeping tonight".

_Love Aris. _

_And I hope you like this story too. I haven't been getting many reviews but I appreciate them. I don't want to sound like a Review Whore but what can I say, I love hearing what people have to say about my work :)_


	10. Chapter Nine

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Nine**

Cloude lay on the bed of the spare bedroom of Aris's house, thinking about the conversation she had had with Elmyra only five minutes ago . . .

"_Hey, c'mon you, I'll show you where you're sleeping tonight" Aris said, beckoning Cloude over._

"_Actually" his mother said, "The bed needs to be made in that room. If you wouldn't mind dear?"_

"_No probs" Aris beamed, running up the stairs where they heard him thundering around upstairs. _

_Cloude looked around, facing anywhere other than Elmyra who turned a steely glare to her. She stepped forwards and cleared her throat, gaining the younger woman's attention. _

"_That glow in your eyes?" Elmyra said coolly, "You're from SOLDIER right?"_

"_Yeah" Cloude said, "Well, rather I used to be"_

_Elmyra looked around, and then stepped closer, keeping her voice a whisper so that Cloude had to tilt her head forward so she could hear. "I dunno how to tell you this" she began, "But would you please leave here tonight? Without telling Aris?"_

_Cloude seemed rather shocked but she had to admit, getting to Sector Seven alone without Aris trailing behind was more preferable. Before she could answer, Aris had come halfway down the stairs, grin set into place. _

"_The room is ready, Cloude. Follow me"_

Did Elmyra think she was dangerous? Sure, she had right to be suspicious of strangers hanging around with her son, but hadn't Aris told his mother that Cloude had helped him _out_ of trouble? That she was his bodyguard? But maybe sneaking out at the crack of dawn was the best idea. She didn't need the feminine man with not much strength to follow her or show her somewhere that she could find easily on her own. She would just leave a note telling him thanks for the bed and leave it at that. Soon, with that plan formed in her head, she fell into a deep sleep.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_. . . Seem pretty tired . . ._

Huh?

_I haven't slept in a bed like this in a loooong time_

. . . Oh, yeah.

_Ever since that time . . . _

_It was a dream of a flashback. Something that had happened. She was lying on a bed, head resting on her arms, legs crossed at the ankles, looking up at the ceiling._

"_My, how you've grown" chucked a voice belonging to her mother. Cloude looked up, watching as her mother – an older, double of her daughter – came over and stood next to the bed. "I bet you've got all the boys flocking to talk to you"_

"_Not really" Cloude mumbled._

_Her mother sighed, "I'm worried about you" she said "There are a lot of temptations in the city. A lot of old men prowling on young girls. I'd feel safer if you settled down and had a boyfriend. A steady relationship. An older boy who can look after you"_

_Cloude rolled her eyes, "Not interested"_

_The dream went black. Her old bedroom and mother disappeared, and she was staring at the back of her eyelids._

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Cloude was laid on her back, on top of the covers, still in Aris's spare bedroom. She sat up straight and rubbed the back of her neck, "Must have fallen asleep" she mumbled.

She got to her feet and stretched, silently going over to the door so that she didn't wake anyone up. "Sector Seven is past Sector Six" she said to herself, "I'm sure I can make it on my own"

She rummaged around for a pen and a piece of paper, and after finding them wrote:

_Aris,_

_Gone to Sector Seven on my own. Thank you for letting me stay, you didn't have too. I'll be fine. Look after yourself and your mother. Wish you both all the best,_

_Cloude._

She ended the note with a little wonky smiley face, hoping it didn't seem she was ungrateful for their generous hospitality and set it onto her pillow. She placed the blue pen onto the table and slowly opened the door, peering through the gap - all clear. She tip-toed out of the room, gently shut the door and carefully and timidly, edged her way down the stairs, hoping that none of them creaked loudly enough to wake anyone. She reached the living room, crept her way across it and inched the front door open. Taking a backwards glance, she shut it and ran. Away from the house and through the little makeshift village. As she reached the entrance for Sector Six, congratulating herself on her escape, she stopped when a figure blocked her path. She jumped out of her skin when she realised who it was.

"_Wish you all the best_" Aris read, holding up the note Cloude had written only a minute ago. He looked up with eyebrows raised, not a smile on his face, taking in Cloude's shocked face. "You're up bright and early" he said.

"H-how did you do that?" Cloude stuttered, looking around in the hopes that it was a joke, a hand on her chest where her heart was pounding.

Aris crunched up the note in his hand, ignoring her question, "Fancied an early morning stroll?"

"It's going to be dangerous" Cloude warned, "I can't have you put in danger"

"Are you done?" he said, shoving the note into his pocket, "I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. You can't just leave without saying goodbye. It's bad manners. No wonder you have no friends"

"Fine" Cloude said stiffly, walking past Aris, "Goodbye Aris. I thank you for your hospitality but now I need to go. I bid you a good day, sir"

Aris sighed, "Don't get cocky. I'm coming with you. No _ifs ands _or _buts_ about it. We'll have to go through Sector Six Slums. Come on, I'll take you there"

He turned on his heel and went through the hole. Cloude called after him but he wasn't listening. Clicking her tongue irritably, she followed. They arrived at a broken down, disused road, the thick road broken up with large gaps. Makeshift ladders – basically wooden boards – and steel pipes were used to get from one end to the other. Around were bits of scrap metal and broken down houses. Aris was waiting for her on top of a ladder when she ran through the opening.

"Keep up SOLDIER" Aris laughed, running further down the road and out of sight.

Growling, Cloude ran over to the ladder and charged up it, hoping to reach Aris before he ran into trouble. But as she reached the top, it seemed she was too late, Aris's staff had just appeared in his hands and he was holding it out of front of him, pointing one end at a house. Cloude reached him and was about to ask what was wrong when a head popped out of the top of the house and lunged at them. They parted as they both jumped out of the way. Cloude drew her sword and rolled to her feet as Aris slowly got to his. Cloude watched as the house seemed to grow four tiny, stubby legs and two long clawed arms. Thinking fast, Cloude ran forwards and attacked, slicing the monsters side. Aris attacked too, hitting the creature/house with his staff, but it seemed to have gone unfelt.

The house/monster growled at the abuse and struck out with its arms, trying to grab either one of them, but it couldn't reach. Feeling a familiar impulse run through her veins, Cloude ran over, jumped high into the air and slammed down with her sword with all her might, slicing the beasts head down the middle. It let out a little squelching noise and fell to its side. Grimly, Cloude violently slashed the air once to get the gore and grime off of her weapon. Aris was vanishing his staff as Cloude turned to him.

"See?" she said, "This is why you should have stayed at home like a good boy"

Aris scoffed, "We were handling ourselves perfectly fine, right?. We took that thing out with ease"

"_I_ took it out" Cloude growled, "All _you_ did was tap it. Is that staff of yours useful for anything?"

Aris narrowed his eyes dangerously, and without replying, he stormed off, jumped down the edge of the broken road and climbing up the edge of the side of another. Cloude moaned to herself and slid her hand down her face.

"Aris" she called, "Wait for me. Sorry, I didn't mean that. I was just a little annoyed"

She came up by his side where he had his arms crossed, waiting for her. He sighed but did not say anything. He just walked ahead and let Cloude walk next to him. After a few minutes of awkward silence where they just climbed and made their way through the scrapheap, Aris said lowly, "It belonged to my mother"

"The staff?" Cloude asked, imagining a young Elmyra waving it around like a powerful warlock. Aris nodded as they managed to reach the end of Sector Six, ending up in a children's play park where there were a set of swings and a slide in the shape of a Moogle.

"Well, here we are" Aris said, arms outstretched and indicating the park they were in, "The gate to Sector Seven is over there" he pointed to a black iron gate that was open, showing Cloude a little village that she barely recognised.

Cloude nodded, "So it is. I guess this is goodbye. Are you going to be fine getting home by yourself?"

"_Oh no, whatever will I do, I need to be protected_" Aris scowled in a high-pitched voice, "Is that what you want me to say?"

"No, of course not" Cloude mumbled as Aris walked further into the park, looking around.

"Come and sit with me" Aris said, going over to the swing set and sitting down, patting the swing seat next to him. Sighing, Cloude walked over and sat down, wrapping her hands around the chain where Aris's hands were on his lap, his feet on the ground pushing him forwards and backwards a little.

"I can't believe this is still here" Aris mumbled, indicating to the park, "I haven't been this far in years. I just usually flutter around the church and my home. Sometimes going into the city to sell the flowers" he side glanced at Cloude then asked, "I-in SOLDIER, what rank were you?"

Cloude looked up from the floor and looked at him. He was now staring at his boots that had stopped moving, his hands clenched.

"Oh" Cloude said, her mind flashing blank before she answered, "I was First Class"

"Hhmm" Aris muttered even lower, "Just the same as her . . ."

"The same as who?" Cloude asked, wondering who Aris was talking about.

"The same as my first girlfriend" Aris whispered.

"Oh" Cloude said, "Were you two . . . serious?"

Aris shook his head, "Oh no" he answered, "But I did like her a lot"

Cloude then asked, "What was her name? I might have knew her"

Aris looked up sadly and shook his head, "It doesn't matter now" he sighed, "I haven't talked to her in a while. Probably doesn't even remember who I am. Probably gone off with another guy as she saw quite popular with the men"

Before Cloude could speak again, a sound boomed behind them. They glanced over their shoulders and saw a pair of large, iron doors slide open and a Chocobo drawn carriage was pulled in. The giant yellow bird cawed as it turned left and went down the path leading to the city. It was carting a red and blue topped carriage and when it turned, they saw a man sat inside it, looking away from them. He was wearing a black suit and had black hair. They watched as the carriage was almost around the corner and Cloude's mouth fell open when the man inside turned his head and his face was in sight.

It was Trey!


	11. Chapter Ten

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Ten**

The carriage swept from view, the sounds of the Chocobo and the carriage wheels soon disappeared.

"Trey?" Cloude called, jumping to her feet and running over to the path and glancing down it where the carriage had gone. "Trey!"

Aris ran over to her side, looking confused. "The guy in that carriage was Trey?" he asked, "Where was he going? He looked kinda odd" then without thinking, he was running again, down the path and towards the city.

"Hey!" Cloude shouted after him, "Where are you going?"

She ran after him and caught him by the arm, swinging him around to face her. His large green eyes looked shocked but also determined. "I'll go alone" Cloude said, "You just go home, ok?"

"But what if he's in danger?" Aris said, tearing his arm out of Cloude's grasp and running again, "We have to do something"

Cloude followed, taking the first left and reaching a little town that had shops dotted around the place. Aris looked around wildly as Cloude caught up to him; he was searching for the carriage.

"We have to find him fast" Aris said briskly, "This place is not in a good area. It's known to be the hot spot for drug users and people searching for a . . . erm . . . _night entertainer_, if you know what I mean?"

"Why would Trey be in a place like this?" Cloude muttered, looking around, "He's neither a drug user or a man looking for an _'entertainer'"_

"I dunno" Aris said, "I don't know the guy. All I know is that we need to find him fast"

"We'll ask around" Cloude said, taking the first right and wishing that she hadn't. Right in the corner was a tall building covered in lights and a heart shaped notice board. It had men lingering around the doors, young and old. They all seemed to be talking in hushed voices and counting out money in their palms. She didn't want to go down this place but what if Trey was there and they bypassed it? Cloude grit her teeth as she moved forwards, ignoring the wolf whistles and cat calls as she passed.

"They are disgusting" Aris muttered, catching up to the blonde as one man shouted over to Cloude, asking if she was looking for a _good time_. "Gah" Aris continued, "Walk on. We'll ask here then we're getting out pronto"

Cloude, feeling like she wouldn't be able to talk without punching someone let Aris go over to a man instead, the man in a red suit who stood by the door watched on as Aris opened his mouth to ask, but he was cut over.

"Even useless dweeebs like you can find their destiny's here. We have a wide selection of men and women" his piggy eyes raked over Cloude before they turned back to Aris, "What do you say? Fancy a girlfriend?"

Aris shook his head, his teeth ground together, "No thanks" he said coldly.

"Listen, do you know a guy named Trey?" Cloude interrupted.

The man's eyes lit up, "Ah, you're pretty fast. He's our newest guy. But, he's in an interview right now. Here at the Honey Bee Inn, all new men are taken to see Madam Corneo. Madam Corneo is a famous and beautiful woman, but now she just wants to settle down with a husband. So far, she hasn't had much luck. Play your cards right and you may find yourself with a beautiful bride, sir"

Aris pulled a face of disgust, backing away and grabbing Cloude's arm as he went, "No thank you" he said, "We've got what we came for"

"Hey! Don't hog that hottie to yourself"

"Like, share man"

"Look at that ass!"

The calls followed them until they round the corner and was out of sight and they could no longer hear the men. Aris closed his eyes, feeling bile rise up in his throat. He opened them to see Cloude, red in the face with anger and a little bit of embarrassment.

"Vile pigs" she snarled under her breath. She glanced at Aris, "Who the hell is Madam Corneo?"

"Like the man said" Aris muttered, "She used to be a notorious lover, gaining mountainous riches as she went. And now she wants a husband. Urgh, any man who goes to her must be sick in the head. She's like, fifty years old" he then looked away after realising what he just said, "Not that I'm saying Trey is sick in the head, of course"

Cloude shook her head, "No, there must be some over reason why Trey has gone to her. He has no intentions of being anyone's husband"

"C'mon then" Aris said, "Let's go to Corneo's Mansion. It's only up ahead, and then we'll ask Trey himself"

"If there's no ulterior motive behind his actions" Cloude snarled as they ran past all of the shops and headed further up the path, "I'm going use my sword to cut a part of him off"

"Ouch"

They soon reached the mansion; it was easily the largest building in the small town. It was golden in colour and had pink lights all around it. The name _Madam Corneo _was written in diamonds above the double brown doors. The roof was high with red, silk drapes hanging from the roof all the way to the floor. As they approached, a tall, beautiful woman with pinned up brown hair and wearing a very revealing black dress spoke to them. "This is the mansion of Madam Corneo, the most powerful woman in Wall Market. Look, she's not bent that way so you shouldn't come back here" her eyes narrowed at Cloude then turned to Aris, "But the gentleman on the other hand . . ."

Cloude glowered as Aris whispered to her as they took a step backwards out of earshot, "Look, I'll go inside and find Trey. Obviously you're not going to be let inside"

"No" Cloude snapped, a look of hurt on the man's features, "You DO know what kind of place this is, right?"

Aris blew away a strand of hair out of his face irritably, "Of course. I'm not stupid. I don't need to be bubble wrapped. Look, how are we going to get inside then? If you want to come inside, we'll need another plan"

"If we bust in there, it'll cause too much of a commotion" Cloude grunted, "And I'm pretty sure this place is rigged with cameras and alarms . . . damn, but I can't let you go in alone. Huh? What are you snickering about?"

Cloude balled her hands into fists when it seemed like Aris was trying to hold in a laugh. His hand was over his mouth and his eyes watered slightly. He soon regained control over himself and said as seriously as he could, "You could always cross-dress. You know? Dress up as a man"

Cloude growled, "Are you trying to tell me I look like a man?"

"No" Aris said, holding out his hands defensively in front of him, "Not at all. But since you can't get inside as a woman, why not try it as a man? Hold on a sec"

He turned back to the woman with a grin in place. "Just hold on a sec, I'll be back later with my friend's twin brother. He's a right looker, I'm sure Madam Corneo would love to meet him"

The woman smiled seductively, "I can't wait. Hurry back soon, dear"

Aris nodded politely and grabbed Cloude's hand, dragging her away spluttering. "Aris, I can't dress up as a man! There are parts of me that will give me away"

"I'm sure we can figure out how to do it" Aris said blushing slightly, "I mean, without being rude or lecherous but you're not very, erm, top heavy are you?"

Cloude looked down at her bosom. Sure they weren't huge like Bernie's, but they weren't small either. If anything, they were just the right size, especially for her small frame. She glared daggers at Aris's blushing face.

"So?" she scowled, "I'm sure you can't just shove me into a suit and pass me off as a man! No, I won't do it"

"You are worried about Trey, aren't you?" Aris smirked, his blush dwindling.

"Yeah but-"

"C'mon!" Aris said, "If it was the other way around, I'm sure I would put on a dress to help my friend"

Cloude huffed, "Fine. But as long as you don't expect me to shove a pair of socks down the front of my pants, I seem to have no other choice if I want inside, do I?"

Aris chucked, "I wasn't going to suggest it" he let go of her and looked her up and down. She crossed her arms, feeling self-conscious. Aris clicked his fingers, "A suit! That is what we need to get first. Then we'll work around that"

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

They found themselves, half an hour later in a clothes shop with Cloude standing on a stool getting her measurements taken. They had gone to the shop and talked to the owner's daughter, but her father – bored with making women's clothes – had been down in the bar. Aris was able to convince him back to work, telling him that a suit for a female was needed. He had become interested at the prospect at making something different and was currently taking the measurements of Cloude's right arm.

"What is this suit for?" the owner mumbled. "Trying to get into that Honey Bee place?"

"No" Cloude hissed, "And I don't feel like sharing"

"Whatever" the owner said, snapping back his measuring tape, "Now, what colour do you want it?"

"Black" Cloude grunted, but Aris shook his head.

"How about dark blue?" he said, "Or better, light blue to match your eyes?"

"I'm not trying to win a fashion show" Cloude grumbled, "Black it is"

Aris sighed, crossed his legs where he sat on a wooden chair in the corner, watching Cloude get her measurements taken. Cloude hopped off the stool where the owner's daughter picked it up and placed it behind the counter.

"Should be simple enough" the owner said, "I'll pad the front of it a bit to hid any curves and bumps to make the body look more masculine. You said you didn't want it too smart? Cargo pants then, that should common it up a bit. I'll also make a secret compartment at the back so you can hide your sword in it. Why is it so big anyway?"

"Thank you" Aris said, getting to his feet, "How fast can you do it for us?"

"Give me an hour and it'll be done" the old man replied. "I have no other customers today"

"Great" Aris beamed, turning to Cloude, "Now to do something about your hair"

"My hair is to be left unharmed" Cloude growled, "I'll be a man with a ponytail. I'm sure _you'll_ have no objections to that"

"No" Aris said fingering his small curled ponytail, "But it is rather long to be a male ponytail. And I told the woman at the door that I would bring along your twin brother. If you turn up without your hair different, she's gunna realise straight away that it's just you in a suit and not someone else"

"There is a hair dresser not far away from here" the daughter piped up, "But . . . the place only has one stylist and he's usually at the Honey Bee place. If you want to get to him, you're gunna have to call in there first"

"Worst day of my life" Cloude grunted. "I say we just storm the mansion, get Trey out and head for the hills"

"And get our faces put on the most wanted list?" Aris replied, "No thanks" he then turned to the man's daughter, "But, don't we need a member's card to get into the Inn?"

"Oh yeah, you do. I'm sure if you sign up, they'll let you in once without the card"

"I'm not signing up for anything like that" Cloude scowled, "Listen, I'll go in telling them I want to become part of the team then look for the hairdresser. I'll grab him and get us both out before anyone can notice. I'm not letting anyone but a professional near my head"

"Fine" Aris nodded, "I'll search around for some accessories. Maybe a fake moustache and some cologne"

"Is it ok if I leave my sword here?" Cloude asked, the daughter nodded her head as Cloude placed it behind the counter, "Take good care of it. I'll be back for it as soon as I can"

Aris turned to the owner and passed him a few coins, paying him for his services. They left the shop, Aris turning one way and Cloude the other, back to the Honey Bee Inn. The men were still there, and their cat calls had seemed to double when they saw that she was now on her own. Ignoring their crude shouts, she went over to the man they had talked to before and stood in front of him, hands on her hips.

"What now little lady?" he purred.

"I want to talk to the boss of this place" Cloude said, forcing her voice to sound light and casual rather than angry and disgusted.

The guy raised an eyebrow and smirked, taking out a radio and pressing the button.

"Hey Mercedes, I got another girl here for you. Wants to _talk_"

"_Send her in_" came a female voice from the other end of the radio. The man placed it back into his waist coat, and went over to the door and opened it a crack.

"There you go, have a nice time" he smirked.

She was practically shoved inside, the man's hand briefly grazing her backside as he pushed. She turned, fist raised and eyes narrowed but he had slammed the door shut before she was able to face him.

"Oh thank Gaia you're here" squealed a voice from behind her. Cloude turned and cringed when a scantily clad woman in a bumblebee outfit ran over to her, high heels from her black stilettos clicking over the gold marble surface of the floor, the fake antennae on her head bouncing up and down. She stopped in front of Cloude, rearranged her lopsided wings and turned bright blue eyes to Cloude.

"You're the new girl, right?" she asked hopefully.

Wanting to forget the whole idea, Cloude was about to say no, but Trey and the prospect of an unprofessional cutting her hair short made her say, "Yes"

"Oh thank goodness" the woman sighed, "We're short on girls and we have clients waiting. By the way, I'm Mercedes. So, have you done anything like this before?"

"N-no!" Cloude stuttered. "But I only-"

Mercedes tilted her head to the side, "It was to be suspected. You're too young have this sort of experience before. Come, we'll start you off small. Go into that room and I'll bring along a costume"

"C-Costume?" Cloude shrieked. "But I-"

Mercedes rolled her eyes, "A bee costume of course. We've got one in your size. We can't have you entertaining the clients wearing that" she flapped her hand at Cloude's attire. Without waiting to be insulted by the blonde, Mercedes grabbed the others hand and pushed her into an empty bedroom. She disappeared to go and get Cloude's outfit. Shivering, Cloude sat on the soft blue bed, thinking of a plan on how to reach the hairdresser. The walls of the room were also blue with darker blue arches painted on them. Little red hearts were pasted over the place and it matched horribly with the pale pink carpet. Mercedes appeared a second later with a bee outfit matching her own.

"Put it on and your client will be with you in five minutes. This is your only trial so don't mess this up"

She left the room. Cloude picked up the outfit between her thumb and finger and lifted it up to eye view. She didn't want to put it on, but she guessed that if she did, she wouldn't look out of place wandering around alone in the Inn. Shivering, Cloude stood up and went to remove her boots when something in the corner caught her vision. As she turned, it seemed that the lights began to flicker where they eventually went dim. Leaving the side of the bed, Cloude slowly walked over to the corner, jumping when she saw someone crouched there. She was about to yell at the pervert and to tell him to leave, but she furrowed her brow when she saw that she could see straight through them.

'_You_' it whispered, it's head low, '_What are you doing in a place like this_?'

It slowly looked up, long blonde hair scraggily around her shoulders, bright blue eyes, wide in anger, lips turned in a frown. When their eyes met, Cloude's head burned, just like it did at the second Reactor before she had set the bomb. Something similar to a hundred scraping nails on a blackboard rang through her head, her teeth ground together as she stared into her own eyes, the transparent figure on the floor was her.

'_This is what I wanted to ask you_' it said. Was it a ghost? '_Why are you fooling around in a place like this?_'

It stood up, raising a sword over its head. '_Do you think problems go away if you just think about them?_' it scowled before it fell forwards and through Cloude's body. All of the air inside her lungs left in an instant, her muscles gave way and her vision went black just as the lights went bright and the door opened.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Eleven**

'_You can't change anything by just sitting back and looking at it'_

"What are you saying?"

'_It's started moving'_

"What has?"

'_Wake up'_

She felt something heavy leaning over her. Something was pressing against her chest, her cheeks stung. As her eyelids fluttered, another hard bolt of pain stung her cheek and then the other. She opened her eyes where a blurred face was looking down upon her. She didn't recognise this face and her eyes watered when another slap was struck across her cheek. The persons face became clear, it was a middle aged man with a thick, brown moustache . . . and he was naked besides a thin pink thong. Her eyes widened.

"AARRGGHH!"

She sat up right quicker than a thunder clap, the man leaning over her tumbled to the side and laid next to her, head held up with his arms, brown eyes watching her curiously.

"Phew" the man said, "I'm relieved. Heard you collapsed. Not surprised. You're the new girl right? Gave ya client a heart attack when he came in and saw you on the floor and not in the good way. Mercedes heard him scream and she came for me and now you're awake"

Cloude looked up, another middle aged man in a suit was sat in a chair, his face white and eyes closed. The man who had revived her jumped up from the bed.

"Sorry sir, you will be fully refunded or your next visit will be free of charge"

"Too right it will be" the man growled, "Putting me with a newbie when you know full well I like my women talented. But my free session will have to wait, I must return to the salon"

"Salon?" Cloude mumbled as the man left the room, leaving her alone with her 'client', "Are you the hairdresser?"

"Only one in this pathetic town" the man grunted, getting to his feet. "You better go home and get some rest"

"But, I only came here to look for you" Cloude said, standing up.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Me? Look, you're a good looking girl but you're just not my type ok?"

"No" Cloude snarled, "I didn't want to talk to you for _that_. I came here because I have a hairdressing job for you. And since you were here instead of at the salon, I came here instead to look for you"

"You whored yourself out just for a haircut?" the man asked, "All you had to do was ask at the door for me. Didn't you use your brain?"

Cloude blinked. Now that he said it, his idea seemed more reasonable and less embarrassing. Cloude blushed and scratched the back of her head. The man sighed.

"The name is Harry Allen. Come on, I'll give you a haircut free of charge. You look like someone who needs a bit of help".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"I cannot believe you did it" Aris said half an hour later in the clothes shop as Cloude walked in. Cloude snarled as she went over to the mirror in the changing room. Her long ponytail was now gone. Her hair was still as spikey as ever, but it ended near the base of her neck, tickling the skin there. The spikes on the left hand side were still longer than the ones on the right, and it seemed to cover her left eye ever so slightly. She felt the back of her head, feeling at a loss without the ponytail there. She did look more boyish but still feminine at the same time.

"Feel any lighter?" Aris asked.

"I feel slightly sick" Cloude replied, "First the Honey Bee Inn and now this? I had been growing it for years and now – gone! Gone in ten measly minutes"

"I think it looks nice" Aris commented, "I like it better like that"

"You think?" Cloude replied, turning her blue eyes onto him. He grinned and nodded. He held up a bag and said, "Cologne. I couldn't get a fake moustache but there was a beard. But they didn't have a blonde one. Oh, also, your suit is ready"

The owner's daughter came around the counter and handed her a black suit. "There's a little compartment inside so you can put your sword under the jacket. I'm sure you want to hide it"

"Thanks" Cloude said, taking the garments in her arms and walking over to the changing room. "I suppose I should get ready"

"Don't sound too enthusiastic will ya?" the owner grumbled.

"I think the loss of her hair has hit her pretty badly" Aris smirked, sitting on his chair and waiting. After a few minutes and a lot of cursing later, Cloude emerged from the changing room, looking like a man, if a little feminine. The jacket was black and the shirt was white. Padded out, no female bumps or lumps could be seen. In fact, she looked rather muscly. The only clothing she kept from her old clothes were the boots and shirt; she had discarded the shorts, probably with the intent of keeping the cargo pants after they had gotten to Trey and left the mansion.

"I don't feel right" Cloude mumbled, taking her sword from behind the counter and placing it into the little harness that was hidden in the back of the suit, the collar hiding the little bit of handle that was poking out. "Can we go now? Trey has been in that mansion for a long time. Anything could have happened to him already"'

Aris looked at Cloude smiling, then mumbled, "This is making me want my own suit"

"We don't have time" Cloude snarled, "C'mon"

"Thank you both very much" Aris said, turning to the owner and his daughter and bowing.

"Don't mention it" they both said as Aris left the shop to catch up with Cloude who was storming back up the path towards Madam Corneos Mansion.

The same woman was still stood at the door of the mansion when they arrived. An animalistic smile was on her face as they approached.

"Damn" she smirked as they stood in front of her, "You're friends twin is a right hottie. Yum, if Madam Corneo does not want you, I'll still be stood out here"

'_Think like a man! Think like a man!' _Cloude's brain screeched. "I'll keep that in mind- er – sweetie" she answered in a forced deep voice.

The woman smirked and turned to the door, rapping it with a well-manicured hand. "Two gentlemen coming through" she called.

Cloude side glanced at Aris as the double doors opened. She hoped she looked convincing enough until they found Trey. The door opened and they stepped inside, the woman giving Cloude's backside a hearty slap as she passed. She growled angrily – what was it with her arse and people around here? Was it that slappable as both a woman and as a man?

The room they had entered was lavishly set. The floor was wooden but with a rich red rug with a dragon printed on it. A set of red stairs were to their right and a man behind a desk was at their left. He was wearing a grey and white suit. He looked up when they had entered.

"Ah, gentlemen" he beamed, opening his arms wide; "I'll go and let Madam Corneo know you are here. Don't go wandering around". He bowed and left through a door that was behind him. Aris whistled, looking around the beautiful room admirably, hands on his hips, then said playfully, "She likes to splash out does she?" he turned his eyes up at the golden chandelier that was dangling from the roof, "I bet that's real gold, too"

"We're not here to admire the decor" Cloude growled, "Trey must still be here if Madam Corneo is still waiting for men to turn up"

"Oh, yeah" Aris said, "Right. He might be up these stairs"

Cloude led the way, taking the steps two at a time in her haste. The second floor was just a balcony overlooking the entrance hall. In the middle was a set of red and gold double doors, the curvy name _Madam Corneo_ set in diamonds like above the front door. Further along the balcony was another doorway, but it had no door. Cloude and Aris ran over to it and down the cold, dark stone steps leading further underground. Torches in brackets led the way down until they reached the room below. It didn't look any happier. It was a little lighter than the steps, but that was because single candles were lit around the room. In the middle of the floor sat a table with spikes around it, an outline of a human body was in the middle. A coal fire was at the other end of the room, the coal so hot it was already red. Standing near the fire, staring into the hot mass was a black suited man. Other than his clothes, nothing was different about him. His hair was still as messy as before since they last spoke. But his jaw was set firmly, his red eyes not moving from the coals. Suddenly embarrassed, Cloude turned away. Aris looked between the blonde and the dark haired man and stepped forwards, clearing his throat.

"Trey?" he asked firmly.

Trey blinked and looked up, looking a little confused about being spoken too. His eyes bore into Aris's, not knowing who was talking to him since the men had never met before till now. Aris cleared his throat again and took another step towards the younger yet taller man. "Nice to meet you, I'm Aris".

Trey side glanced as Aris threw out his hand in welcome. A few seconds passed as Trey stared between Aris's face and hand, but did not take it. Aris dropped his arm to his side sulkily. "Cloude's told me a lot about you" he tried again.

Trey's eyes shone with some new emotion that could not have been described, then he looked wary, "And you are?" he hissed. His eyes then widened as he turned to face Aris fully, "You . . . you were the one with Cloude in the park. I caught a glimpse of you both briefly before coming here"

"Right" Aris nodded, "With Cloude"

"Oh . . ." Trey said slowly, his eyes narrowing again.

Aris looked shocked for a moment and held his hands out in front of him defensively, "Don't worry" he said nervously, "We just met. It's nothing"

It was then Trey's turn to look nervous, "What do you mean, _don't worry_? Don't worry about what?" he shook his head, "No, don't misunderstand" he said quickly, "Cloude and I just grew up together. Nothing more"

Aris chucked and lowered his arms back to his sides, "Poor Cloude. Having to stand here and listen to both of us call her nothing"

Trey arched a brow, "Cloude?"

Aris nodded and turned to where Cloude was stood; staring at the wall like it was an interesting television programme. Trey blinked in quick succession and slowly walked over to the other 'man' in the room. He wasn't recognisable with his short hair and black suit. It wasn't until Cloude looked up timidly where Trey jumped in shock, recognising her by her unusual eyes.

"Cloude?" he shrieked, clapping a hand to his mouth and mumbling around it, "Huh, what? You're hair!"

"Had to get it chopped off" Cloude grunted irritably, "I couldn't get in here as a woman so I had to dress as a man. The shame I had to go through to get into here is unbelievable"

"What are you doing here?" Trey hissed, reaching out and gripping her forearms in his hands, "Forget that! What happened to you after the fall? Are you hurt?"

Cloude shook her head, "Give me chance to answer. Like I said, I'm dressed like this so I could get into here" she then tutted, "And I'm also alright, Aris helped me out"

"Oh, Aris did . . ." Trey said slowly and unenthusiastically, letting go of her.

"Enough about me" Cloude snapped, "What are _you _doing here?"

"Yeah" Trey said sheepishly, his eyes quickly darting towards Aris who was listening, "Um"

There was a silence, Cloude and Trey looking at Aris who just beamed at them. But soon, realisation dawned on him. "Oh" he said, "I'm just go over there and plug my ears"

He clapped his hands to the side of his head and walked over to the other side of the room, sitting on the sex/torture table with his back to them, humming a little tune. Trey watched him for a second before turning back to the blonde. "I'm really glad you're ok" he beamed.

"Thanks" Cloude smiled, "So, what happened?"

"Well, when we got back from the Reactor, there was a man hanging around, looking rather suspicious. So we hauled him in and Bernie managed to squeeze some information out of him"

"And that's when Madam Corneo's name popped up" Cloude added, clicking on fast.

"Yup" Trey said, "Madam Corneo. Bernie told me to leave the letch alone, but something's been bothering me"

"I see" Cloude said, "You wanted it right out of Corneo's own mouth?"

"Yeah, but now I'm in a bind. Erm, Corneo is looking for a groom. Every day, she gets in three men to choose from. She then chooses one and . . . erm . . . well you know! Anyway, I have to be the guy or I'm out for tonight"

Aris coughed and they turned as he approached them "Sorry, but I overheard" he said timidly, "But if you know the three men, there won't be a problem, right?"

"I guess" Trey said slowly, cocking his head to the side to look at Aris properly.

"We have two here now" Aris continued.

"No Aris" Cloude interrupted, "I can't let you get involved. It was a mistake to even let you come this far"

Aris scoffed, "Oh, so it's ok if Trey is in danger but not me?" he laughed sourly, "I can look after myself thanks"

Cloude gaped, "No, it's not ok for Trey to be in danger either . . ."

But Trey continued like their conversation was not interrupted, "Are you sure?" he asked Aris.

Aris waved away the comment, "I grew up in the Slums. I'm used to danger" he then looked very serious, "Do you trust me?"

"Yes" Trey replied without hesitation, "Thank you, Mr . . ?"

"It's Gainsborough" Aris said, "But Gaia, please. Just call me Aris"

"Heeeeeeey!" squealed a voice down the stone steps, echoing around the walls. Aris and Trey who were near the base of the steps, looked up where the man from the desk had ran down the steps and halted halfway. "It's time, gentlemen. Madam Corneo is waiting" he turned on his heel, going back up the stairs, muttering darkly under his breath.

"I probably don't need to ask" Cloude said lowly, "But the other guy . . . is me, isn't it?"

Aris chucked, "You're right, there was no need-"

"-to ask" Trey finished.

_I know the cross-dress scene in the game is a whole lot better than this as this is kinda lame, but women dressing up as men can't really be turned funny. I could have done it like in the game where Aris would have to cross-dress, but that would also mean that Bernie would be the one to see Corneo, not Trey. And I wanted to stick with the same characters in the game. _

_Sorry for the less than impressive chapter, but please stick with me on this._

_Keza xXx_


	13. Chapter Twelve

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twelve**

They ran up the cold stone steps, Cloude walking slowly behind them, dreading about what was about to happen. What if she was found out as a woman straight away, what would happen to her? She wasn't worried; she would be able to take any of their guards on easily. She had her sword concealed under her suit. They reached the balcony again, their eyes having to adjust to the sudden intense light. The man was stood next to the double gold doors, one having been opened. He bowed them inside the room, Trey taking the lead and Cloude the rear. The room was decorated just like the rest of the building – besides the underground room they had just come from. The rug however that covered most of the floor had two, long interlocking snakes on it rather than a dragon like the other one had. Madam Corneo was lounging on a chez lounger, wispy grey smoke coming from her cigarette. Two other women were stood either side of Corneo; both wearing similar dresses as the woman at the front door. As the trio approached, the blonde one said silkily, "Line up in front of Madam Corneo"

Doing as instructed, Cloude in the middle with Trey at her right and Aris to her left, they waited. Madam Corneo was indeed a very beautiful but older woman. She had shoulder length, straight blonde hair, piercing brown eyes and was wearing a short dress that showed much of her heaving bosom and her long legs. She also wore long, silky gold robes that trailed to the floor. Her feet were left bare where her toenails were also painted violent red, just as her long fingernails. She passed her cigarette to the woman nearest to her and gracefully got to her feet, the long, thin robes touching the floor and trailing behind her.

"What grand pieces of meat we have here" she said hungrily, her eyes passing over all three of their faces, Cloude's eyes darted to the well-polished floor. Corneo licked her lips, her hands slowly going down her own body as she stood before them, eyes half lidded. "Hhmm, I wouldn't mind if all three of you graced my bed tonight, but alas, I can only choose one. But who do I choose?"

She gracefully walked over to Aris, who stood with his hands in his pockets, not caring. Madam Corneo held his chin in her hand, lifted his face and turned it from side to side to get a better look at him. "This one?" she breathed. She continued down the line, bypassing Cloude and stood in front of Trey, circling him slowly, her eyes on his backside. She reached out and squeezed it heartily, making Trey grit his teeth together. "Or this perky cheeked one?" she said huskily into his ear.

She finally turned to Cloude, who was still looking determinly at the floor. Madam Corneo stood in front of her, bent at the hips to look at the third man closer, showing off her massive bosom as she did, a red love heart tattooed on one of them. As she tried to look, Cloude turned away, a blush on her cheeks. She turned the other way when Corneo tried to look at the other side. She then ran her long nailed fingers through Cloude's spiky hair, making it even wilder and stood back, finger tapping her full red lips.

"Who to choose?" she said mainly to herself, "My, I usually don't have such a hard time picking one out. It is rare to have three desirable men in front of me"

She paced in front of them, every-so-often stopping in front of one of them. She tried one last time to get a proper look at Cloude's face before she stood back again and smirked.

"I think I've made my choice" she said seductively, "Oh it has been hard to single one out, but I believe I will choose this healthy young man right in front of me"

Aris let out a little chuckle and Trey growled, both turning to Cloude whose blush had gotten more violent. She blinked a few more times, looked up and then realised that Corneo was staring straight at her. Her eyes widened in horror.

"W-what?" she squeaked hi-pitched. She shook her head and put on a gruff voice, "Wait a sec!"

"Oh" Corneo smirked, lifting Cloude's face up by placing a long finger under her chin, "I do like men who play hard to get" She turned around, hands clamped together behind her back and spoke to the two other women. "You two can have the other ones"

Both women smirked and saluted, "Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am"

Madam Corneo turned back to face Cloude, a feral grin on her face, "Shall we go then my little buttercup!"

And swishing her hips seductively from side to side, she made her way to the other end of the room where there was a doorway where there were pink glistening beads hanging down from it, touching the floor. Cloude glanced at both men. Aris had stopped acting like this was all funny and just nodded, Trey on the other hand was furious, but he had no other choice but to agree, he knew the girl could handle herself. Deflating, Cloude rounded her shoulders, egged on as she felt her sword securely strapped to her back under her jacket. With a sickly glance towards the other two women who were making their way predatorily towards the only men in the room, she followed Corneo into the adjacent room. Not surprisingly it was a bedroom, most of the space taken up by a giant, king-sized bed. The room was very oriental but the same as the rest of the mansion, all red and gold. Madam Corneo shed her robes as they entered and draped herself over her bed, a hand slowly caressing her own leg.

"Finally alone" she purred, clapping her hands together where the lights dimmed, "Oh come to me big boy. Come to mamma"

Feeling vomit rising in her throat, Cloude turned her face to the wall, wanting to look anywhere other than the bed. But deciding that the whole plan was to get information out of Corneo, she approached the bed cautiously, standing at the side like an awkward lamp. Madam Corneo knelt on her knees and grabbed her red dress by the hem and pulled it over her head. Cloude looked away immediately as Corneo was now wearing nothing but black, lacy underwear. She crawled over to the blonde on her hands and knees and practically purred, "Oh my, you are so handsome. I'll never tire looking at you. Do you . . . do you like me too?"

Wanting to say no but feeling like she would ruin the whole plan, Cloude tried to change her face into one that looked sexy and alluring, "Of course" she said in her deep voice.

Corneo wiggled her bottom like a dog would do with its tail, "Oh, you sure know how to make a girl feel good" she rolled on her back, gazing up at the blonde, "So, what do you want to do?"

Fighting the impulse to run, Cloude actually wanted to be sick, but once again, endangering the plan made her say otherwise, "Whatever you want to do . . . er, _mamma_"

"Oh I can't stand it" Corneo growled, arching her back from the bed and closing her heavily lashed eyes, "A kiss. Give me a kiss!"

Actually taking a step back, Cloude covered her mouth like her own lips were about to be set upon. She watched as Corneo puckered her lips to receive the kiss, but Cloude's eyes darted to the door. Impatient, Madam Corneos arms reached up and grabbed Cloude around her neck, forcing her head down to meet hers, forcing an upside down kiss on her. Struggling with her eyes wide, Cloude managed to tear herself from Corneos surprisingly strong arms and moist lips just as the door burst open, bouncing off the wall it had hit. Spluttering, eyes still wide and hand over her mouth, Cloude jumped as both Aris and Trey (now minus the suit and back into his old attire) ran into the room. Corneo looked up and smirked, "You'll have to wait your turn if you all want me, boys" she looked back up at Cloude and then frowned, looking between all three of them, "What is going on here?" she demanded.

"I've had enough" Cloude growled, her voice normal. Corneo's eyes widened as the blonde reached behind her back and grabbed the handle of her giant sword, slicing the jacket and dress shirt in the process, leaving the cargo pants unharmed and revealing her normal top underneath. Corneo jumped and tried to move away, curling up in a ball in the corner of the bed.

"A woman!" she shrieked, pointing at Cloude who placed her sword on her back, "What is going on?"

"Shut up" Trey snarled as he and Aris went over to the bed and cornered her, "We'll be the ones doing the asking now. What did your assistants tell you? Talk, if you don't . . ."

"I'll cut up your body so you won't be pretty anymore" Cloude threated.

Madam Corneo jumped and shivered, "No" she pleaded, "I can't have that! My body is what keeps me my fortune and mansion! Ok, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything! I made them find out where the woman with the gunarm was. That is what they _made_ me do"

"By who?" Trey snarled.

"No" Corneo yelped, "I can't say! They'll have me killed"

"Talk" Aris snapped, placing his foot on the bed and leaning forwards and whispered, "Or I'll shove my staff up where the sun don't shine"

"Gah" Corneo shuddered, eyeing the weapon that was now in Aris's hand, "It was Heidegger of Shinra, the Public Safety manager!"

"The Public Safety manager?" Cloude echoed. "Shinra did you say? What are they up too?"

Corneo shook her head violently as Trey leant forwards, hands on the bed and glared at the woman, "Talk or I'll beat you into a bloody, unattractive pulp"

Corneo squawked like a terrified bird, "You're serious aren't you?" she muttered, eyes darting around the room. "But I'm not fooling around either you know? Shinra want to crush a rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. They want to literally _crush_ them by breaking the support holding up the plate above them!"

"Break the support!" Trey yelled in horror, clenching his fingers around the covers of the bed.

"Yeah" Corneo nodded, finding enough confidence to sit up properly and wave her arms around along with her speech, "When they do, that plate will go _ping _and everything under it will be done. I heard their hideout was in Sector Seven. I'm just glad it's not here in Sector Six. I worked hard on this beautiful mansion"

"Wipe out Sector Seven?" Trey muttered, shaking his head as he stood up straight and turned to the others, "We need to get over there pronto!"

"Then lets not dilly dally" Cloude replied as they went to run over to the door.

"Hold on" Corneo called as they made it to the foot of the bed. They turned angrily, having no time to continue talking to the woman.

"Shut up" Cloude barked as Madam Corneo knelt up in the middle of her bed, facing them.

"No wait" Corneo said, "This will only take a sec!"

Trey sighed, "Go on, but hurry"

"Right. How do you think scum like me feel when we babble on about the truth?"

Cloude frowned, looking at both men who also wore faces of confusion. Cloude was thinking if this was a trick question until Aris clicked his fingers and his eyes went wide.

"Because they think they will win?" he said brightly.

Madam Corneo smirked, slowly standing up on the bed, "That's right" she said triumphantly as she reached up towards a cord that was dangling up from above the bed. They only had a moment to realise what was about to happen when that cord was pulled and the floor beneath them opened up. It seemed that they had suspended in air before they all topped down, leaving Corneo to whoop happily and dance where she stood on the bed.

_Since Corneo is a woman in this, there is nothing that they could either chop, rip or smash, so idle threats had to be used._

_Keza xXx_


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Thirteen**

Somewhere else in Midgar, a large man in a pea green suit was walking up a set of grey steps. His beady eyes were concentrating on where he was going. He entered a large room, a long and metal desk on front of him. Behind the desk sat the President, watching him as he neared. The windows behind the desk showed that it was pitch black outside, small lights from other tall buildings the only bright things in sight. He stopped in front of the desk, side by side with a tall, blue suited woman with short black hair whose brown eyes were glued to the President.

"How are the preparations going?" the President asked him.

Heidegger laughed, his voice booming and loud, echoing around the room as the woman turned to look at him. "Smoothly" he replied, "Very smoothly. I've assigned the Turks to this"

Renee frowned and turned back to the desk, "President" she said, voice low and strong, "Are we really going to do this? Simply destroy a group with only a few members"

"What's the problem, Renee?" the President sneered, "You want out already?"

"No" Renee said, "But as head of the Urban Development Department, I've been involved with the running and maintenance of Midgar, that's why. . ."

Heidegger sniggered as the President got up and walked around his desk, "Renee, you should flush those personal problems in the morning"

"The Mayor is against this anyway" Renee said as the President stood in front of her.

"Mayor?" Heidegger scoffed, "All he does is sit in his office and stuff his fat face. You call that a Mayor?" he saluted and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, sir" and he turned and walked back over to the stairs, laughing. Renee tried to stop him from leaving but it was no use.

"You're tired" the President said, laying a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you take a couple of days off and go somewhere nice?"

Renee scoffed and stormed off, her back straight and her head forwards. President Shinra turned and looked out of the window and down to the street below, headlights from cars flashing and people going about their business.

"We'll destroy Sector Seven" he muttered to himself, "and report that AVALANCHE did it. Then we'll send in the rescue operation of Shinra Incorporation" he chuckled darkly, "This plan is perfect, I'm a genius".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Ugh" Cloude muttered, rubbing her head where she had landed. It was the smell that hit her first. She sat up, her back and legs soaked with green water, bits of rubbish and filth floating by. Turning up her nose in disgust, she shakily got to her feet and looked up. A large hole was in the roof where they had been dropped from. She looked around, if the smell did not tip her off, the sight did. They were in the sewers, having landed in a gross river of sewage, the water as high as her ankles. She glanced down to see Aris passed out not far from her and Trey further down. She ran over to Aris who was closest, tumbling as she walked and shook his shoulder, "Hey" she said as he opened his eyes, "You alright?"

Aris sat up with a groan, rubbing his head. "Ew" he muttered as he lifted his other hand that was covered in grime, "Where are we?"

"Sewers" Cloude grunted as she went over to Trey who got up before she was able to get to him.

"Stinks like a sewer" Trey grumbled, getting to his feet.

"This is the worst day ever" Aris grunted, wiping his hand on the side of the wall. "Who does Madam Corneo think she is? Dropping us down here!"

"Sshh" Trey said, pressing a finger to his lips, "I think I can hear something"

A grumble, low and long sounded, making them think of a stomach rumbling, but it came from none of them.

"What is it?" Aris said softly, a little quiver in the tone.

Whatever it was growled louder, stamping footsteps joining the noise. Then suddenly, a large hand clamped itself around the corner, big and blue. Soon a face appeared, a large gaping mouth, a turned up nose and two tiny eyes squashed next to each other. It was hunched over, bronze chains around its wrist, broken like it had once been tethered. The top half of it was blue but the bottom was dirt brown. They backed away from it when it stomped over to them, getting stopped from going further down by the wall.

"We're gunna have to take it on" Trey snarled, tightening his gloves, "There's no other way"

The beast swished its long tail, showing off the end where it had two long spikes at the tip. Cloude got out her sword and Aris materialized his staff in his hands. Trey was the first to attack, pummelling his fists into the beasts stomach, making it growl furiously. It struck out a hand to push him aside, but he managed to flip out if its way. The monster turned quickly for its size and struck Aris in the chest just as he was about to summon his Materia. He let out a winded sound and was thrown into the fall, his head cracking off of it, a line of blood following him as he went. Summoning her Materia as Trey once again attacked, Cloude used her Cure Materia and cast it on Aris who got shakily to his feet. Green surrounded him and the wound on his head cleared up and he ran back into battle, giving her the thumbs up as thanks.

The beast roared again and thumped his fists into the ground, sending a tsunami of dirty, green water their way. Holding their breaths, they managed to hold their ground as the water passed by them, soaking their clothes even further, Aris pushing a rotten banana peel off of his head. Cloude, feeling sick, raced forwards and struck with her sword, slicing the skin of its arm, blood trickling into the water. Angered, it struck out its tail and sent them all flying in different directions, all sustaining different injuries. Getting to his feet first, Aris, feeling a surge of energy run through his body from his staff readied himself. He spun the staff in his hands, a ball of light coming from his hands where they turned into ribbons that surrounded his body. Light blue sparks surrounded him and the other two, all of them feeling much stronger because of it, any little cuts and bruises they had either healing of disappearing. Lining up together, they attacked. Cloude digging her weapon into its shoulder, Trey hitting all parts of its face and Aris hitting one of its knees, a small bruise forming where he was striking.

A surge of energy fired around Cloude's body who ripped the sword from the animals shoulder, jumped into the air and, with the tip shining, slammed it down onto the animal's face, the large, bleeding cut leading from one eye to its chin. It clutched its face in pain, blood passing through its fingers. With one last blow from Trey, it keeled over where its beady eyes rolled into the back of its head, knocked out and unmoving.

Cloude swung her sword around her head, the monsters blood splattered from it, hitting the walls and dropping into the water. Trey straightened his back, turning to Aris.

"Nice move" he beamed, "It's a boost of confidence knowing we have a Healer in the gang"

"Not as assuring enough about having a guy like you" Aris complimented, "I mean, look at those guns. Can I have a feel?"

Trey flexed his arms and Aris squeezed them, his eyes widening. "I am jealous" he said.

"Come on guys" Cloude snarled, "We have no time for any male bonding. We need to get out of here and warn people of Shinra's plans!"

"What if we're already too late?" Trey said sadly, "Bernie, Marley and all of those people?"

"Don't give up" Aris said happily, "Never give up hope. It can't be easy to knock down a pillar, right?"

"You're right" Trey nodded, "We still have time"

"Let's go then" Cloude snarled, getting impatient, running around the corner. The men followed closely behind as Cloud went up the ladder and up to safety from the sewer water. They followed up the ladder where Cloude was bent down, picking something up.

"Materia" she muttered as they came to her side, "Someone must have thrown it way. What do you think it is?"

"Silver?" Trey said, taking it into his hands, "They usually say what it is" he turned it around in his fingers then pointed at a faded word etched into the ball, "Steal".

"What does that do?" Aris asked.

"We'll find out next time we're in battle" Trey said, popping the orb into his bangle.

"How about now?" Aris yelped as something between a cross of a turtle and a man jumped over to them, a long, spiked stick held in front of it. Firing up the Materia, Trey ran forwards where a white orb was in his hands, pulling at something under the turtles shell. A little vial flew from under the shell and into his hand. The label read Potion.

He stepped back as Cloude used her Bolt Materia and the turtle/man was thrown off the ledge by a blue bolt of lightning, dropping its weapon in the process.

"Let's get out of here" Aris said weakly, "I hate this place"

"There's a vent over there. It's the only way" Cloude replied, running to the end of the ledge and looking down the hole, "I see light, it's not too far"

"I'll go first, make sure it's safe" Trey said, stepping forwards and jumping down. Cloude watched the top of his black head when he landed, looking around. He looked up with a smile on his face, "All clear" he shouted up, "But we're not out of the sewers yet"

"I need a bath" Aris groaned as Cloude jumped down, moving aside quickly as Aris jumped.

The river of water separated two concrete ledges, one they were currently on and one with a ladder leading up. Jumping, Cloude made it to the other side, watching as Trey jumped to join her and Aris made his way through the water, not being able to jump as well as the others.

"I'm a rookie" he said in his defence as he climbed onto the ledge, "I'm no Ex-SOLDIER or an experienced fighter. I'm just a guy from the Slums"

Up the ladders they had managed to get out of the sewers through a grate in the road. But it was a deserted road or even a deserted station because broken and torched trains littered the area. They looked around; the area was bare aside from the trashed trains, all greys and blacks. No sky as they were still under the plate.

"Aris I'm sorry" Cloude said, turning to the older man who was just coming out of the manhole, "I got you mixed up in all of this. You should have been at home with your mother"

"Don't tell me to go back" he replied angrily, "Mum can look after herself just fine. I'm here to stay"

"Trey?" Cloude turned to the taller man who was looking around.

"If we get past these trains, there's a way out on the other side" he said, pointing.

They went through the door of the train nearest to them, jumping the other side by going through a broken window.

"What is this place?" Cloude asked as she ignored Treys hand to help her out.

"Train Graveyard" Aris replied, going up a ladder that was knelt against a train, "I've heard about it but I didn't think it was real. Just goes to show huh?"

Up the ladder and along the roof of the train, they jumped the other side by using some crates that had been scattered near it. Through another train and out through a window, they had to move another train compartment aside to get past it. It took them a while, but with the combined effort of all three of them, it soon shifted. They also had to go over another train to get along, ending up further up the graveyard where one train was laid on top of another, glass everywhere.

"This place gives me the spooks" Aris said as they jumped off the roof and to the floor, heading towards what they presumed was the exit. Going around, over and through some more trains, they reached a track. A minutes going down it and they arrived at the station not far from the hideout. Excited, Trey ran faster, ready to tell everyone their warning. The station was calm and empty, which was unusual. They ran, further along and was about to run past the tower when gunfire made them stop and look up at it.

"The pillar is still standing" Trey said hopefully.

"Yeah, but something is happening up there" Cloude said, pointing up at the tower, people crowded at the base, talking amongst themselves.

"Gunfire?" Aris muttered, "Is someone fighting up there?"

They all looked up, flashes of yellow boomed around the tower, most of it at the top. The stairs going up were illuminated by them. Up at the top through the see through floor, they saw a figure shooting at something. Suddenly there was a terrified scream and something fell off the top. They all watched as it hurtled to the ground and as it reached nearer, Trey yelled as they realised it was a person. A sickening crunch reached their ears as the person slammed into the floor. Eyes wide, Trey and Cloude ran over to the fallen woman.

"WEDGE!" Trey shouted, kneeling over their fallen team member.

The crowd surrounded them as Cloude leaned over and checked for a pulse. A weak thump could barely be felt.

"Wedge?" Cloude whispered as Aris looked over her shoulder.

"You . . . remembered my . . . name" Wedge grunted, blood pouring from wounds, staining the floor, snapped bones poking through the skin. "Bernie is . . . at the top . . . help her! Sorry I wasn't much . . . much help"

"Don't talk like that" Trey simpered, rummaging around his pouch that was still attached to his belt, "I've got a Phoenix Down in here, you'll be up and about in no time"

Wedge grabbed his wrist weakly and spluttered blood from her mouth as she spoke, "Forget about me. Just . . . just go to the top, Bernie . . . Bernie needs yo . . ."

"Wedge?" Trey gasped as the woman's eyes froze and her chest stopped rising, "Wedge!"

"No pulse" Cloude said dully, "She's gone" she got to her feet and looked up at the tower, "I'm going up"

"I'm coming with you" Trey said, shutting Wedge's eyes, "I need to kick something's ass. Aris, can you do me a favour?"

"Anything" he piped up.

"There's a bar named Seventh Heaven. There's a young boy in there named Marley. Could you-"

"Don't worry" Aris replied, "I'll get him someplace safe. You can count on me"

"Thanks" Trey said as Aris ran into the town. Wiping his brow, he turned to the scared looking crowd. With a deep grunt he gave them his warning, "Everyone, get out of here. It's too dangerous. Get away from the pillar!"

The crowd muttered but quickly dispersed, leaving Cloude and Trey to deal with whatever was happening to the tower.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Fourteen**

Leaving Wedge, they ran over to the fencing that surrounded the tower and forced the gate open. They hurtled over to the base of the steps and ran full speed up them, the sounds of Bernie's gun getting louder. The long ladder went up and around the tall tower where not far up, they saw Biggs crumpled over the rail, blood flowing freely from open wounds.

"I'm fine" she said, "The real trouble is further up. Hurry"

They ran, handing Biggs a Potion before they left her. Up the steps, they were blocked by a guard in a red suit, swinging a chain around his head.

"Get out of the way" Trey roared, kicking the guard in the stomach where he fell over the edge of the railing and crumpled to the ground. Further up was another guard, but this one was hovering off the ground, being raised up by a hand held propeller. Moving quickly, he zoomed over to them and cracked a metal pipe around Trey's head and then moved out of the way from being attacked. Not in the mood, Cloude used her Bolt Materia and the shock forced the guard to drop from his propeller. Taking the chance, Trey punched the man in the face and then picked him up and bodily threw him over the edge. Another guard came running down at them with a long sword in his hand, aiming straight for Trey's chest. Cloude blocked the attack with her sword and used her shoulder to also send him plummeting to the ground.

The steps now were becoming tighter, going around in a square rather than a circle. Up ahead, there was a figure on the ground, and as they neared, they saw that it was Jesse, one eye forced shut because it was swollen and a trickle of blood coming from the side of his mouth.

"I'm so glad I could talk to you one last time, Cloude" he grunted as they reached him.

"Don't talk like it's the end" Cloude ordered, "You're going to be fine"

"It's alright" Jesse sighed, "Because of our actions . . . many people died. This is . . . our punishment. Go on, Bernie needs you"

"You're not going to die" Cloude ordered as they ran forwards, coming to the top where they saw Bernie firing at guards that were trying to attack her. Running forwards, Cloude managed to slam her sword through the abdomen of one of the last remaining men who had tried to sneak up on Bernie with a knife in his hand.

"I am so glad you came" Bernie shouted over the gun fire that had just wiped out the last remaining man, "Careful, they're attacking from the helicopter"

A helicopter roared over their heads, sending dust all over the place. Bernie fired wildly at it, the bullets bouncing off the hardened surface. Over their heads and someone jumped out, instantly running over to the control panel that was in the middle of the floor.

"Too late!" Rena smirked as they ran over to her, "Once I push this button it is all over" she slammed her fist down onto a large button that was protruding out of the centre of the board which let off clicking sounds, "That's all folks" Rena laughed, "Mission accomplished"

"We have to disarm it" Trey yelled, pushing Rena aside and looking at the board with horror.

"I can't have you do that" Rena snarled, "No one escapes from Rena and the Turks"

She put her hand into her suit and withdrew a long metal rod that elongated and sparked at the end. She fired it at Trey, a spark of red and purple hitting him and encasing him in a solid, yellow pyramid.

"Try and break it if you can" the redhead smirked as Trey hammered against the edge of the pyramid, face showing nothing but fury.

"Stand back" Cloude yelled, getting out her sword and penetrating the pyramid which shattered at their feet and disappeared. Nodding in thanks, Trey brushed his hair out of his eyes and faced Rena who had shot another light at Bernie who managed to dodge it as it was rather slow.

"Bitch!" Bernie screamed, firing up her Ice Materia, but she hadn't seemed to be using it much as the effect wasn't that great. Rena had frozen for a few seconds but soon regained her composure and laughed.

"Is that all AVALANCHE can do?" she laughed, swinging her Electro Magnetic Rod onto her shoulder, "This isn't even worth my time"

Angered, Trey fired up his Fire Materia where flames surrounded the Turk whose eyes went wild and feet jumping up and down to try and get away from the flames.

"Bastard" Rena snarled, storming over, charging up her EMR and hitting Trey square in the ribs. Trey yelped and the power from the Turks weapon sent him skidding across the ground, stopping near the edge.

"How dare you?" Cloude hissed, aiming an attack at the woman's head, each of her blows being narrowly dodged. Using her fist instead, Cloude found her target and punched Rena in the face who only sustained a nose bleed.

"Weakling" Rena smirked, cracking the blonde over the head with her weapon. As Cloude fell to her knees, a black and white blur swooped past her and furious yells echoed as Trey repeatedly slammed his fists anywhere he could reach on the older woman's body. Cloude looked up just as Trey jumped back when the Electro Magnetic Rod was slammed into him.

A fire of bullets swooped past their heads as Bernie let rip, the bullets being dodged by Rena who seemed to be faster than a normal human being. She fired a purple and red spark at Bernie who this time, hadn't managed to dodge. So like Trey before, the black woman was trapped within a large pyramid.

"Gah" Rena spluttered as another blaze of fire from Trey surrounded her. "I'm not sticking around here; I have more important places to be"

So, tipping her head and pushing past Trey who she pushed to the floor, Rena ran over to the edge, jumped onto the railing and looked over her shoulder. "See ya" she saluted, winked and jumped off the edge.

"Come back and fight you coward!" Bernie roared from within the pyramid, slamming the edges with her fist and gunarm, "Get me OUT OF HERE!"

Trey ran over to the centreboard for the bomb as Cloude ran over to release Bernie. The pyramid shattered and both women ran to Trey's side who was pressing random buttons frantically. "I dunno what to do" he said in a panicked voice, "You have a go"

He stepped back as Cloude looked at the board, large, various coloured and sized buttons faced her, lights at the top flashing in red. She looked around for a disable button, but there was none.

"This is not a normal time bomb" Cloude said as she found out there was no countdown for an explosion.

"That's right" called a voice. They all looked up and shouted as a helicopter rose up to meet them, a woman with tied up black hair glancing down at them, holding onto the side of the helicopter in one hand and a remote in the other, Rena in the driving seat, "You'll have a hard time disarming that one. It'll blow as soon as I press this button"

"Who the hell are you?" Bernie snapped, aiming her gunarm at the blue suited woman.

"Tenzin, leader of the Turks" the woman smirked, flicking her long, black ponytail over her shoulder. "Not that I need to tell you. You'll all be toast once I press this button"

"Stop this" Trey yelled helplessly "Or we'll do it for you".

Tenzin laughed sourly, "Only a Shinra Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System.

"Shut up" Bernie roared, firing bullets at the helicopter, most of them just bouncing off the body. Tenzin smirked, "I wouldn't do that if I were you" she sneered, "You won't want to hurt our special guest" and she clicked her fingers and a blond man appeared from within the open door of the helicopter, holding in his grasp a bound and struggling man.

"ARIS!" Trey and Cloude yelled simultaneously.

"Oh you know each other?" Tenzin smiled as Bernie stopped firing bullets. "You should thank me for letting you see each other for the last time"

"What are you going to do with him?" Cloude snarled.

Tenzin shrugged, "I haven't decided" she said, "Our orders were pure and simple and that was to capture the last remaining Ancient" she then laughed sourly, "It has taken us a long time, but now we have good news to report to the President"

"Trey!" Aris yelled, releasing his mouth from the blond man's hold, "Trey, don't worry! He's alright!"

"Sshh" Tenzin snapped, slapping Aris across the face, a red mark appearing instantly on his cheek.

"Aris!" Trey yelped again.

But Aris was not deterred from talking, "You need to get out" he yelled, "Hurry! You don't have lon-" but his shouts were muffled when the man holding him gagged him with a strip of white cloth.

"Oh would you look at the time?" Tenzin smirked, "You don't have long. Once we Turks are out of here I'm pressing this button. Think you can get out in time?"

Cloude and Bernie ran to the edge as the helicopter rose up, heading towards the plate. They watched as Tenzin got inside the helicopter and shut the door. "Aris!" Cloude yelled.

"We'll get to him later" Trey said, "We need to get out like he said or we're done for"

When the helicopter was out of sight, the ground seemed to rumble. The Support beam next to the tower was crumbling and cracking, collapsing under its own weight.

"Tenzin has pressed that button" Cloude yelled, "The whole plate is gunna fall on top of us"

"Come on" Bernie yelled, running over to the railing, dodging a large piece of concrete that had fallen off the beam. She grabbed a wire that had a hook on it and placed her foot inside.

"We can use this to get out, hurry"

Trey jumped on next to Bernie just as the floor of the tower was crumbling. The force of the movement made Bernie grab hold of the wire and let go of the railing with her foot. Running, Cloude ran over to the railing as the wire was moving away from her. She jumped onto the railing and pushing with all her might, arms outstretched as the tower began collapsing in on itself, she jumped off.

"GRAB HOLD!" Trey screamed as Cloude was soaring towards them in mid-air. He flung out one of his hands and as Cloude got nearer, he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and held on tightly. The whole support exploded as they swung away from it, watching as the plate above them began falling down, like the sky was plummeting to the ground. They swung out of the collapse zone as the plate fell onto the towns below, crushing homes, destroying villages and killing the inhabitants. Screams were cut short as the trio landed in the Sector Six playground, followed by dust and debris. They rolled to a stop, and watched as one large city crushed another.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Up in Shinra Tower, the President sipped from his glass of red wine, watching the whole sorry display. Watched as one of the eight plates of Midgar crumbled down, breaking off from the plates that it was in between. Fire and destruction met his eyes, but the screams and the sound of the falling city did not meet his ears. On a gramophone in the corner of his office, classical music was playing, making the scene rather pleasing to his despicable eyes. Sector Seven Slums was now destroyed. Shame about the inhabitants of the plate of Sector Seven, but it had been needed to put his plans into action. Because now, their Rescue Squad was running in, helping whoever needed aid. Shinra would be hailed as heroes and AVALANCHE would be hated beyond measure.

Sector Seven was now nothing but rubble and fire . . . the President smiled.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Marley! MARLEY! MAR-LEY! Biggs! Jesse! Wedge!"

Bernie continued yelling as she tried to move and heave rocks and metal that was in the way of the entrance between Sector Six and the now destroyed and non-existent Sector Seven. Tears rolled down her dirt covered face and she grabbed a heavy rock and threw it to the side, she glanced over her shoulder and said pathetically, "Help me!" she turned back to the steaming pile of metal and leant her forehead against it, slamming it with her fists, "Dammit!" she bellowed, "God dammit! DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL! Marley! MARLEY! My baby! Marley! What the hell is this all for?" she screamed, sending her fist through a beam of metal and yelled out furiously, pummelling the metal with her fist and gunarm, doing nothing but dent it.

"Bernie" Trey shouted, running over to her and grabbing one of her arms, Cloude the other and they dragged her away and sat her down on the ground, tears still streaming down her face. She screamed again as she tried to get up, grabbing a scrap beam of metal that now covered the destroyed playground.

"Bernie please" Trey pleaded, grabbing the scrap of metal and throwing it aside, "Please stop"

Bernie placed her face into her shaking hand, hiding her wet face. "God damn it" she spluttered, her whole body shaking. Trey knelt next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. The tall woman lost all composure and flung herself onto the man, wrapping her gun arm around his neck and sobbing into his shirt, "Marley" she croaked, "My boy, my little boy. He was in there!"

"Bernie" Trey said softly, pulling away from the woman and taking her arm from around his neck, "Look at me. Bernie, look at me!"

Still crying, Bernie timidly lifted her head, looking into Trey's red eyes. "Marley was in there, Trey" she whispered. "_My boy_!"

"No" Trey said, "I think . . . I think Marley is ok"

". . . huh?" Bernie uttered, her eyes going wide as she stared at the young man. "What do you mean?"

"Right before they took Aris, he said _don't worry, he's all right_. He was probably talking about Marley"

"R-really?" Bernie gasped, kneeling up. "He's safe?"

"I think so" Trey said, helping the woman to her feet, "But . . ."

"Biggs" Bernie said softly, "Wedge and Jesse"

"They were there when the pillar collapsed" Cloude whispered, "They couldn't have made it out . . ."

"You don't think I don't know that?" Bernie snapped angrily, "All of us, we all fought together. I don't wanna think of them as dead!"

"And everyone living under and on Sector Seven?" Trey said.

"This is all messed up" Bernie snarled, "Destroying a village and a whole city, killing hundreds, just to get to us"

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Trey asked shocked, "Because of AVALANCHE? All of those innocent people were killed because of us?"

"No" Bernie growled, turning to look at the burning heap that was once the entrance to their home, "That ain't it! Hell no! It's them scum at Shinra, it's always been Shinra! They are evil! Destroying our planet just to build their power and to line their greedy pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gunna kill everyone by killing this planet. Our mission isn't over until we completely crush them all!"

"I dunno. . ." Trey whispered.

"You don't believe me?" Bernie said, a little hurt.

"It's not that" Trey continued, "It's me . . . my feelings. I'm not sure"  
>Bernie nodded in understanding, and then turned to Cloude who was looking away from them, arms crossed over her chest. "What about you?" Bernie said.<p>

Cloude looked up, the sky visible without the plate and without saying a word, walked off.

"Hey" Bernie shouted after her, "Where does she think she's going?"

"Aris!" Trey said.

"Oh yeah" Bernie said, "What was up with that guy?"

"I dunno" Trey said as they walked after Cloude, "But he was the one I left Marley with"

"Marley!" Bernie spluttered, now remembering why she was so upset. She began running, but stopped when she saw that Trey was not following. "C'mon Trey" she said, "There's no turning back!" and continued after the blonde. Trey sighed and looked over his shoulder, looking at the blocked in entrance and the destroyed playground. All of those people . . . Bernie was right, Shinra was to blame. Walking, Trey grit his teeth, making sure that it was going to be up to him and the last members of AVALANCHE to make the people behind the plate collapse pay dearly.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Running through the broken up road, Cloude didn't bother with the ladders. She just climbed her way across it. A purple monster with a circular mouth lined with teeth and a long, snake like tail, jumped in front of her but she cut its head off before it could even think of attacking her. The squeal of it dying called to the rest of its little friends, three more climbing through the rubble. Doing away with one like the other, the two remaining creatures attacked. Scratching her exposed arms and face, blood trickled to her fingertips and dropped to the floor. Her blade cut through the body of the third beast. She turned to the last one that was already in mid leapt; aiming for her throat, but it was blasted away as bullets ripped at its body, leaving it to squirm on the ground, soaked in its own black blood.

She turned, watched as Bernie lowered her gunarm. Eyes fixed on the younger female, she slowly approached. When she stopped in front of her, she said only four words, "Take me to Marley"

"You're going to go help Aris?" Trey asked, joining the two women. Cloude looked at the floor.

"Yeah" she said, "But before that, there's something I want to know"

"And what's that?" Trey said.

"About the Ancients" Cloude said, turning away from Bernie's impatient face.

A voice, cold and cruel whispered in her ear. A voice she barely remembered. '_In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!_'

Cloude clutched at her booming head, eyes shut to block the tears that were brimming from the pain. "Sephira?" she whispered. She suddenly collapsed to her knees, clutching her squirming stomach.

"Cloude" Trey yelped, falling next to her, hand on her shoulder, "Are you all right"

"Pull it together woman!" Bernie barked.

"I'm fine" Cloude said, shakily getting to her feet on her own, "C'mon. There's only one person I want to talk to right now".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

They entered the house, still warm and full of light. A small, peaceful tune was playing on the radio, the occupant of the house sitting on a chair at the table, facing away from them. She spoke as they neared. "Cloude . . . wasn't it?" she asked softly. She put down her knitting, stood up and faced them, "It's about Aris, is it not?"

"Sorry" Cloude said, "Shinra have him"

"I know" Elmyra said sadly, "They took him from here"

"They were here?"

"It's what Aris wanted" Elmyra shrugged.

"Why is Shinra after Aris?" Cloude asked.

"Aris" Elmyra said carefully, "Is an Ancient. The sole survivor"

"Sole survivor?" Bernie said, "But, _you're _his mother aren't you?"

"No" Elmyra whispered, "Not his real one" she went over to the table and sat down in her chair, indicating that they do the same, which they did. She continued, "It must have been fifteen years ago. During the war, my husband was sent to the front. Some faraway place in Wutai" . . .

'_One day, I went to the station because I got a letter saying he was coming home on leave"_

_The train whistle blew; men came out of the doors, greeting women and young children. One man even picked up his wife and spun her around, kissing her when he put her back onto her feet. Soon, the station was clear aside from one woman. Her hair was long, down to the base of her back and she was wearing a green dress, waiting for someone. _

_The train instructor went over to the doors and shut them. The woman ran over to him, asking if anyone else was to come out. He shook his head and went to close all of the other doors. The woman went over to the steps, sat on them and cried. _

'_My husband never came back. I wondered if something happened to him. I though his leave must have been cancelled, that he was still in Wutai. So I went to the station every day, hoping that he would be one of those passengers that came out. Finally, we would be together again. Then, one day . . ."_

_The same woman arrived at the station; people must have already come out of the train. A little boy was crying, tugging at a woman who was passed out at the bottom of the steps. The woman in the green dress ran over and knelt at the fallen woman's side, the boy unmistakably her son. _

'_You used to see this sort of thing during the war. The woman's last words were, - Please, take Aris, take him somewhere safe -. _

'_My husband never came back. I had no child of my own, I was probably lonely. So I decided to take the boy with me. Aris and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk. He used to talk to me about everything. He told me he escaped from some kind of laboratory somewhere. And that his mother had already returned to the planet and that he wasn't lonely . . . and many other things.'_

"Returned to the planet?" Bernie asked when Elmyra stopped talking.

"I didn't know what he meant" Elmyra said, "I asked if he meant the star in the sky but he said it was this planet. He was such an unusual child. One time, when I thought he was asleep in bed, he came running down and told me not to cry. I asked why and he told me that someone close to me had just died and that his spirit was coming to see me but it had returned to the planet. At the time I did not believe him but . . . a few days later, I received a letter telling me that my husband had died in battle. And that was that, a lot had happened. We were happy until one day" she sighed and turned back to the wall, "They came. Apparently they wanted him back, that they were searching for him. Aris disagreed at once obviously. The woman told him that he was of special blood, that his real mother was something called an Ancient. They said that the Ancients would lead them to the supreme land of happiness and that Aris would bring happiness to everyone in the Slums and all that was needed was Aris's co-operation with Shinra. Aris denied it, but when the woman asked if he could hear unexplained voices in his head, he lied and said that he hadn't, and ran to his room. I knew about his mysterious powers, but I used to act like I was oblivious to them. And the Shinra have been following him since"

"It's amazing that he's been able to avoid Shinra after all this time" Cloude mused.

"Shinra need him" Elmyra said, "They won't hurt him"

"But why now?" Trey said.

Elmyra looked at Trey directly and said, "He brought a little boy with him. On their way here, Tenzin found them. He probably couldn't get away fast enough. He decided to go with them for the little boys safety"

"Marley" Cloude nodded, turning to Bernie who had fresh – but happy – tears in her doe brown eyes.

"Marley?" Bernie choked, "Aris was caught because of Marley?" she got up and went over to Elmyra, "Marley is my son, I'm really sorry"

"You're his mother?" Elmyra bellowed, "How could you leave such a young boy alone like that?"

"Please don't start with that" Bernie said sadly, wiping away her tears "I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marley if I . . . you gotta understand something. Mother to mother. I wanna be with Marley, I do. But I also got to fight. Because if I don't . . . the planet is gunna die. So I'm going to continue fighting. For my son and everyone else's families. But, I'm worried; I really do just want to be with my boy, always"

"I think I understand" Elmyra said, "He's upstairs if you want to see him. He's all right. Go up and see him"

"Thank you" Bernie nodded, thundering up the stairs.

"It's my fault" Trey said, staring at the top of the table his arms were resting on, "I got Aris involved in this"

"Don't say that" Elmyra said, reaching over the table and taking his hand into hers, "Aris doesn't think that at all. He spoke highly of you when I spoke to him briefly. Helped him out of a tight spot when you were both in trouble"

Nodding, remembering that he had saved the older man back in Madam Corneos mansion. When Cloude had been picked by Madam Corneo, the two men had been taken to a room full of sexually charged women. They had to fight their way out so they could make it back to Corneo's room and help Cloude.

"Let's go see Marley" Cloude suggested.

"I'll stay here" Trey smiled weakly, "I would like to talk to Elmyra"

Cloude nodded and went up the stairs.

_Once again, I don't wanna seem like a review hog but they do make me happy :)_

_I've written about thirty chapters of this story so stay tuned for the next instalment. _


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Oh my baby, my boy, I'm so glad you're all right!"

"Mamma, you're eyes are making my face wet"

Cloude leant on the door frame of Aris's bedroom, arms crossed and smiling as she watched mother and son being reunited. Bernie was sobbing again, holding the young boy in a tight, death like hug. Marley was patting his mother's back, the four year old doing the reassuring.

Bernie picked up the boy and sat him on her hip, turning to Cloude who was about to leave to let them have some privacy.

"Cloude" she said, "If you're going to go help Aris, I'm coming too. I want to thank him personally for saving Marley. Also, it's the Shinra we're dealing with, It'll kill two Chocobo's with one stone"

"Guess what Cloude?" Marley beamed. Cloude leant in closer to the boy, "Aris was asking me a lot of questions about you. About what kind of person you are. I think he likes you"

"Oh" Cloude said, fighting off a blush.

Marley chuckled and winked, "I won't tell Trey"

"You should all get some rest" Elmyra said as she came up the steps, "There is Aris's room and the spare room. I don't have much space here"

"Thank you" Bernie smiled, "It has been a long day".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The next morning, Cloude went down stairs to see that Trey and Elmyra were sat at the dining table, eating toast for breakfast and talking pleasantly. She went over to the table, picked up a slice of buttered toast from the rack but did not sit down as she ate.

"You're going after Aris, right?" Trey asked, brushing his hands free of crumbs.

"Yeah" she replied after swallowing.

"I'm coming with you" Trey smiled, "I can't be the only guy in this group. Hanging around girls all the time is making me want to tear my hair out"  
>Cloude scoffed, "We're heading straight for Shinra Headquarters. You'll have to be prepared for anything and everything"<p>

"I know. If I stay here and do nothing, I think I'll go crazy"

Something like a herd of elephants sounded from upstairs, and seconds later, Bernie had jumped the steps and joined them.

"Elmyra" she said breathlessly, "Could you possibly look after Marley for me? Just a bit longer until we come back?"

"I would love too" she replied, "He reminds me so much of when Aris was young, both so talkative"

Bernie smiled and nodded, "This place is dangerous now" she said, "You might want to go someplace safer"

"Alright" Elmyra agreed, "But promise me you'll come back to him. That you won't go and get yourself killed"

"Don't worry" Bernie grinned as they turned to leave, "Nothing will stop me coming back for my boy. Thank you for everything"

"Yeah, thank you Elmyra" Trey smiled.

"Cheers" Cloude added as they went through the door.

"How do we get to the Shinra building?" Trey asked once they were outside. The weather was the same as the day before. Warm and with a little bit of sunlight coming through the gap in the above plate.

"There's no train that goes there anymore" Bernie replied, finger to her mouth in thought.

"Oh" Trey said, disappointed by the lack of information, "How about we just go into Wall Market and see where we go from there?"

"It's a start" Bernie shrugged.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ten minutes later, they were near the first entrance leading to Madam Corneo's mansion. But they did not go anywhere near it. Instead, they turned down a path to their left that ended with a dead end. There was a tall wall with large words written in different colours, sprayed onto it. Through the middle, top to bottom, was a wire. Thin but strong.

"If we climb this" Cloude said, giving it a little tug to test its strength, "We might be able to get to the top"

"We can't climb this" Trey said, "We don't even know how far it goes! Or even if it does lead us to Shinra"

"No, there is a way" Bernie said determinly, "Give it another glance, what does it look like to you?"

Trey looked up with a frown on his face. He took in the thinness of the wire and the height it was to go. It didn't look like anything special to him.

"Just a wire" he mumbled.

"Oh yeah?" Bernie grunted going over to it and holding it on her hand, "To me it looks like a golden, shiny wire of hope!"

Cloude raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms and looked like she was either between laughing and groaning. "Ok, that was a bad analogy Bernie, but I understand how you feel. This wire may be our only way to get to Aris"

"You actually agree?" Bernie said, open mouthed.

Cloude shrugged, "Why have you painted me as such a disagreeable person?" she turned to the wire that Bernie still had hold of and said in a commanding sort of voice, "Ok, let's go!"

Bernie nodded, grabbing the wire with her hand and somehow gripping it with her gunarm; she managed to wrap herself around the wire and start to pull herself up, most of the power coming from her legs.

"Ladies first" Trey said, motioning for Cloude to go first, "I need to be last in case one of you fall"

"I won't fall" Cloude smiled, grabbing the wire and hoisting herself up, "But if she does" she nodded above her where Bernie was quite a well way up, "She'll bounce. A hard fall won't stop that woman"

"Oi, lovebirds!" Bernie shouted down at them, "You coming or what?"

Sighing, Cloude began climbing, closely followed by Trey. They reached an opening in the wall, showing them a good view of the destruction of Sector Seven, but they did not stop. People however, had stopped to stand at the break in the wall and talk amongst each other.

"This is horrible" one man said as Cloude passed them, "Absolutely terrible"

"Scary" his friend said, "My dad told me it was Shinra's doing"

"Nah, I heard it was some terrorist group. Can't remember the name"

Soon, the wire stopped and they came across a high maze of electronics, pipes, broken scaffolding and thick pipes and tubes.

"People aren't dumb" Bernie said, "People are already concluding that Shinra dropped the plate"

"We need to get to the other side" Cloude said as she stood next to Bernie, "That pipe over there. If we can grab that, we'll be able to swing to the other side"

"Your idea, you first" Bernie replied.

"Move aside then, I'll need to take a run and jump at it"

Moving out of the way, Bernie watched as Cloude stood as far back as she could, took in a deep breath and ran along the pipe they were on, jumping high when she reached the edge and grabbed onto a low hanging pipe that was swinging from some fallen, red scaffolding. Once she had managed to grip the hanging pipe, Cloude swung it so that it directed towards the side they were aiming for. Jumping, she reached the other side and briefly looked around to make sure it was safe.

"Come on over!" she called, waving her arm at them. She turned and began climbing a vertical scrap of scaffolding that reached the top. She looked up, her head was ground level, underneath a streetlamp that sat next to the Shinra building. It was tall, covered in green and yellow search lights and was of pure grey. A lone helicopter flew around the top of the building, a white light searching the ground. She ducked as the light briefly passed over her. Bernie's head popped up next to her and whistled.

"Didn't think it would be this big" she commented, "Never been this close before"

"And we're about to get closer" Trey said as he arrived, "Quick, while none of the lights are on us"

Together, they all climbed the last part and ran over to the building, the search light just narrowly missing them as they quickly ran up the front steps, facing large double glass doors.

"Hey" Bernie said to Cloude, "You should know this building rather well"

"Not really" Cloude mumbled, "Come to think of it . . . this is my first time in the Headquarters too"

"I've heard" Trey said, "that every floor above the sixtieth are special and not easy to get to, even for the employees" he looked up as far as he could, "Must be where they're keeping Aris"

"Security is light" Bernie beamed, "C'mon!"

Clicking her gunarm, Bernie ran forwards, heading for the doors, but Trey managed to step ahead and grab her by her shoulder.

"Wait a second" he said seriously, "You're not going to just go running in there, are you?"

"Well duh" Bernie said, turning from the man's grasp, "What does it look like I'm about to do? I'm pumping to kick some Shinra ass!"

"_That _is not going to work" Trey said bluntly, "We need to find another way"

"There isn't another way!" Bernie snarled, "Look, we're wasting time standing here and talking. Aris could be put into more danger if we don't get to him soon"

"I know" Trey muttered, "But it'll be suicidal if we just go barging into the front office. If we get caught here . . ."

"We're as good as dead" Cloude finished, coming to the same conclusion as Trey. Obviously they couldn't just run inside and announce to the whole of Shinra that they have arrived. What if they moved Aris somewhere else secretly as they were fighting their way through to him? Then the whole journey would be useless. And if they were caught . . . well, they were wanted criminals weren't they? And Shinra wouldn't bat an eyelid about sending them straight to their deaths.

"We'll have to sneak in" Cloude informed, "So that no one will know that we're here"

"Agreed" Trey nodded as Bernie looked impatient and furious, "Let's find another route"

Avoiding the front doors, Bernie went to search left and Trey the right and Cloude keeping an eye out, ready to sound the alarm if they were spotted. Two minutes later, Bernie came back with a frown on her face.

"Dead end" she said, watching as Trey jogged over to them. When he saw that they were watching him, he stopped moving about fifty feet away from them and waved them over. Looking at each other briefly, they sprinted over to him and followed as he led the way wordlessly. Soon, they saw what he had found, a side tunnel, completely empty.

"Found it hidden behind a few bushes" he replied once they were in, "Fake bushes. Behind them was a metal door, but it wasn't locked surprisingly. I think this is the only way"

They ran down it, the walls, roof and floor were made of nothing but metal. They turned the corner and faced another door.

"Only problem" Trey said sheepishly as they went through, "There are a hell of a lot of stairs"

The trio gazed up, the stairs were going up and up, going around in angular circles, the top not in sight.

"Are we really going to take all of these stairs?" Bernie gulped.

"By the looks of it, it's the only way we can get in without suspicion" Cloude replied, rubbing the back of her neck, not looking forward to what they were about to do, "C'mon, they can't take that long right? We'll be at the top in no time"

She headed the way, going up the first flight, thundering around the corner and up the next. Long red lights showed the way up, but to be honest, a long flight of stairs could only go two ways – up and down. So the lights were really not needed. After a minute, they all began to feel rather dizzy, the rush of circling over and over again going to their heads.

"Ah" Cloude gasped, "There's a doorway, told you it wouldn't take us long!"

They ran through, only to have their hearts stop. More steps! Going even further up.

"Don't know why we gotta climb all these damn stairs" Bernie huffed as they continued running.

"Because" Cloude muttered, "We don't want a commotion until we get to Aris"

"I doubt that's possible" Trey snickered, taking the lead as he rocketed past Cloude. Smirking, she went faster, determined to win. Soon, it became competitive, the two younger ones leaving Bernie behind.

"Slow the hell down!" she shouted up at them when they were about five flights higher than her. They did, but not by much, only enough that the black woman could catch up.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh" she gasped when she neared, now at their heels, "Heh, heh, heh"

"Knock it off" Cloude grimaced as they ran through another doorway only to be faced with more stairs, "You're giving me the creeps"

She didn't say anything for another minute, "So, even you will fight for someone else. I had you figured wrong"

Cloude looked over her shoulder, frowning, which was a bad mistake. She tripped, landing halfway up a step, on her hands and knees. Trey, who was ahead, stopped and moved to help, but Bernie who had caught up pretty fast, helped the blonde up instead.

"Who cares what you figured?" Cloude snapped as she continued.

"I'm just saying" Bernie gasped, "That maybe I was wrong . . . gah, how far do these stairs go?" She stopped, leaning her back against a wall as the other two carried climbing.

"Why don't you ask them?" Trey growled angrily, "Come on!"

Pushing herself from the wall and wiping her brow, Bernie set off again, having to go faster to catch up since the other two were showing no signs of slowing down.

"You don't think it's one of them endless stairs?" Bernie said. "Do you?"

"Of course not!" Trey said, but something like a little bit of doubt traced his voice.

"Right, couldn't be" Bernie replied.

None of them spoke for a while, all of them breathing deeply and heavily, limbs on fire. In fact, they were all feeling rather sick. They had not been prepared for this. Fighting guards? No problem. Possibly facing SOLDIERS? Not too much of a bother. But a seemingly endless staircase? It seemed that they would be defeated before they even started.

"Are we there yet?" Bernie cried desperately as they went through another doorway.

"Not . . . yet" Trey gasped, a stitch in his side.

Ten seconds later, "There yet?"

"I said not yet" Trey growled.

Another ten seconds later, "Hey-"

"Bernie" Trey snarled dangerously, "Don't even ask! We are way way way way way way way WAY far away from being _there yet_!"

A few more doorways later, they still were nowhere near the top. It seemed like they had been going on for hours.

"Damn it" Bernie howled, "I've had it. I'm going back down"

"And take just as long going down as it did coming up?" Cloude asked.

She got no answer. They did however stop for a few seconds as Bernie collapsed where she stood and refused to move until her breath was back.

"C'mon Bernie" Trey said, going down to her, "pull it together"

Bernie looked up, pain across her face as she shakily got to her feet and bent over, breathing like she had spent ten minutes underwater.

"Yeah" she wheezed, "All I know it that I'm just flesh and blood, 'cept for this arm of mine. Don't treat me like I'm some Ex-SOLDIER or something"

"What about me?" Trey hissed, "I'm also only human" he clenched his fists and began running, "Do what you want, I'm going on"

Out of breath, they followed. Everything in and out of their bodies now in pain. Sure, Cloude was an Ex-SOLDIER, a bit more than flesh and blood, but her training didn't exactly include a tower of stairs. Also, she had her sword strapped to her back, and it wasn't exactly weightless.

Another doorway, "What floor is this?" Bernie muttered.

"I gave up counting" Trey said.

"Why do they have buildings so damn tall?" Bernie snarled, sick of being the one to have to catch up to the others. "The Shinra, they're just no good"

"That's why we're doing this" Trey said, "They need Aris, and since we're saving him they can't use him can they? Like you said yourself Bernie, two Chocobo's with one stone"

"Man I'm beat" Bernie said after a minute of silence, "Marley, mamma wanted to see your face one more time!"

"Would you stop acting like a retard and climb?" Trey snapped.

"Just a bit more" Cloude gasped, ". . . maybe"

Two more doorways and they saw a light at the top, with a boost of confidence, they thundered up, coming to a door that was unlike the others they had ran through. This one was red and important looking; the others were brown and shabby. At the top, they all fell to the floor, Cloude to her knees, Trey on all fours and Bernie on her back, limbs spread in all directions. This seemed like the stop as there were no more steps to climb.

"F-finally made it" Bernie coughed, tears welling up in her eyes. "N-never want t-to see . . . no more stairs for the r-rest of my life!"

"I've never been so exhausted" Trey said, kneeling up and clutching his aching side, "If this was a normal mission, my vote would be that we just go home and think of a new plan. But this is it" he slowly got up, "We'd better get ready"

"I need a week to recover" Bernie said, sitting up, "Just leave me here. Call me when you've got Aris"

"No, c'mon" Trey smiled, grabbing her arm and hauling her up just as Cloude also got to her feet.

Looking down the steps where they had wasted a good half hour of their time conquering, they all shuddered, hoping that it all wouldn't come to nothing. Standing in front of the door, Cloude grabbed the handle and opened the door.

_Ahh, they endless staircase. _


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Seventeen**

Alarms blared before they were even able to shut the door behind them. The floor they had entered was massive; a table with green chairs set to their right. But running towards them were three red clad guards, eyes wide with shock.

"Destroy the intruders" one of them yelled, taking his gun out of its holster.

"Damn it" Bernie snarled, "Going up all them stairs did us no favours"

One of the guards fired before Bernie was able to defend herself, the bullets aimed at her. Cloude, who had taken her sword out as soon as they had went through the door, jumped forwards and shoved her weapon between the fire of bullets and Bernie, bullets bouncing off the sword with little metallic bangs.

"Thanks" she grunted, firing over the brim of the sword and hitting the guard who had fired at her, hitting where he fell to the floor and ceased moving.

Another guard had abandoned his weapon and went toe to toe with Trey, punches and kicks being hit everywhere. Cloude was about to help but realised that the man was only just playing with the guard, toying around. So she went and fought with the third guard who took a swinging hit at her. A punch in the stomach, a knee to the face and a hard elbow to the back sorted the guard out, and he fell to the floor at the same time as the guard fighting Trey did, Trey getting bored rather quickly and just punching his attacker hard in the face.

Something shone on the ground, something that had fallen out of one of the guards pockets. Crouching, Cloude picked it up. It was a plastic card with a strip of metal running down one side of it. In red letters, next to the Shinra Corporation logo were the words, _Floor 60_.

"This is why it's difficult to get to the upper rooms" Cloude told the other two, "I think you need to use these lift cards to get there"

Trey took the card out of Cloude's fingers, surveyed it for a second then put it into the brown pouch that was dangling from his belt, glass like clinks could be heard when he opened it and Cloude saw that he still had vials of Potions, Ethers and Phoenix Downs in there. Looking around the room, they saw straight ahead were two lifts, probably one going up and one going down. As they turned to run there, two guards, alerted by the noises from the earlier fight, ran around the corner behind them, telling them to stop.

"They don't give up do they?" Bernie yelled, covering her head with her arm but firing blinding over her shoulder as they pressed the button going up and waited impatiently.

"C'mon" Cloude muttered as she glanced at the approaching guards who were shooting as they ran, most of their bullets going wild. A ding sounded as the doors opened. They piled in and Trey ripped the card from the pouch and used it in the reader, a little green light blinking in acceptance as the doors began closing. The guards had stopped running now so they could get a better aim, the bullets firing through the closing doors and hitting the glass wall of the lift, causing Cloude, Trey and Bernie to quickly avoid the attack by pressing themselves close to the walls. The guards angered shouts were the last thing they heard as the doors shut completely and the lift began to rise.

The view they had from the lift was both beautiful and awful. From high up, they could see over Midgar, over the mountains where the sun was just setting, the sky a sea green. The towers of the buildings were emitting green smoke, like chimneys, but it wasn't a fire causing the smoke, but Mako.

"This is the real thing" Bernie muttered as they continued up, "Do NOT let your guards down. We're here to get Aris so I don't want anyone shot down"

"If the security continues to be this rubbish" Trey scoffed, "Then we should be out of here safe and sound within the next hour"

"Don't get too confident" Bernie warned as the doors opened. They entered a large room, a wall in front of them. To their left was a trail, so they went down it and through a door and into a room with a small window in it, showing them the rest of the room. Guards, many of them, were patrolling the floor, going up and down in front of a line of head busts that were bigger than them, even taller than Bernie. Glancing through the door that led to the floor and behind the busts, was another door that was unguarded. Inside the room behind the door, was a set of stairs.

"We need to get over there" Cloude whispered, pointing at the door at the other side of the floor, "But we don't want to be seen. That many guards, we'll be wiped out pretty fast"

"Then how do we get across?" Trey muttered, looking around the room they were in, hoping that he could see something that could help them.

"We'll have to sneak across" Cloude replied, "Watch, when the guards patrol, they stop then continue. If we run bust to bust when they're marching, if we're quick, they won't see us. As long as they don't see us crossing, we'll be fine. Just make sure not to move when they stop to look around or they'll see you"

"Sneak across the room like timid mice?" Bernie growled, "Surely we of AVALANCHE won't come to something that pathetic!"

"Cloude's right Bernie" Trey hissed, "We can't fight those guards. There are too many. I don't like sneaking around as much as you, you know I just want to go out all guns blazing, but we have no other choice. We can't help anyone if we're locked up or dead"

Still not happy with the idea, Bernie had no choice but to agree. She shook with anger and then pointed at Cloude, "Fine" she snarled, "You go first. When you get across, you then signal to us when it's safe for us two"

"Fine" Cloude nodded. Thankful that that there was no door to open just in case the guards saw or heard. She watched as the guards walked then stopped, Waiting, she ran to the first bust as they began patrolling again, flattening her back against it and waiting again. When they stopped and then continued, she went to the other bust and waited again. She had to do that again for another bust until she came to a wall that was halfway to the doorway they were aiming for. Looking up, she saw that Bernie was ready to run over. Watching, Cloude indicated with her hand for the woman to go to the first bust as the guards began moving, then using a stopping signal with her hand to tell Bernie to halt. Once Bernie was at the wall, Trey did the same, not needing Cloude's guidance to get across, so he too joined them soon at the wall.

"Halfway there" Cloude whispered, her eyes switching between the guards they still had to get past and the open door they were aiming for.

They continued the process to get past the second lot of guards by using the other busts, Cloude getting to the doorway then signalling Bernie over who at one point was almost caught when she ran over before Cloude told her to and then Trey, who once again, did not need any help. Once they were in the room, their bodies calmed down, adrenalin still running through their bloodstreams.

"I thought I almost blew our covers there" Bernie sighed, running a hand down her face, "Shit, why am I so clumsy?"

"It doesn't matter" Trey said, keeping his voice low so that it didn't carry, "We're all across and we weren't seen. Don't start losing it now"

"I know, I know" Bernie nodded, "Aris is counting on us"

They went up the small flight of stairs, Bernie letting out a little nervous chuckle as they went up, all of them happy that it didn't go up far, the monstrous stairs from ten minutes ago still on weighing heavy on their minds.

They entered a room that looked to be the dinner hall. Red topped, circular tables were spread about across the green tiled floor, six chairs to each table. A couple of employees were sat around, talking and eating. Freezing, the trio stopped, but their appearance did not raise any alarm. In fact, one man walked right past them, looked, smiled and went down the steps they had just come up.

"No one here suspects us" Trey whispered, "So don't give them a reason to"

They walked past a large tree that was planted in the middle of the room, tall and green, a couple of fallen leaves sat, brown and crumpled at the base of its trunk. There was only one lift this time, purpose for both doing up and down, so they went over to it, hoping to get to the next floor.

"Hey" a man said to them as they called the lift down, "Do you even have a card to get to the next floor?"

Ready to fight if needed, they turned to him as he approached, but he didn't seem to be confrontational. As he joined them, Cloude held up the key card with the number sixty on it. The man laughed.

"You can't use that to get to the next floor" he replied, "You need another one. That card can only get you to floor sixty but nowhere else. Each floor requires its own card"

"So we need another card?" Trey asked.

"Yup" he replied, examining his nails. He then looked up, "You're not employees, so why are you here?"

Gulping, Cloude turned to the other two for help, but Trey just cleared his throat and said, "We're a part of the repair team. We were called in to fix that dodgy door on floor sixty-two. But since we were only given a card for floor sixty, we can't get up any further"

"Oh yeah, that door" the man said seriously, "Been giving us workers a lot of trouble the past few days. It's about time the big wigs called some people in to repair it. Say, how about I let you use my card? You can return it when you come back down after fixing the door"

"Yeah, we'll only be five minutes" Trey replied as he held his hand out for the card that the man had just got out of his pocket, "Thank you".

The doors to the lift opened and they went inside, Trey swiping the card and the doors shutting behind them. The women looked at him, surprised, he shrugged.

"I heard someone on the table not far from us complaining about the door" he replied, "So I just used it as an excuse. I honestly didn't think it would work and I really didn't think he would give us his card. Looks like even fate wants us to save Aris, huh?"

"But if we need cards to get to the other rooms" Cloude mumbled, "We'll have to keep bribing employees for them"

"We'll find a way" Bernie said as the door opened, "We always do"

The entered what seemed to be a library. Books after books were set into large cabinet, most of them looking rather dusty and untouched. After walking to the other end, they saw another lift, but they did not have the card for it.

Footsteps could be heard coming their way, and they all readied themselves for a fight until a small, squat old man with thick glasses came around the corner, holding up a lantern with a little flame in it.

"Who are you three?" he said snappishly, holding the lamp further to his face, "Why are you here?"

"Mayor?" Bernie whispered, recognising the man from a poster when he was in the running for his title.

"Mayor" the man scoffed, "That is my title, but it's just a five letter word. It's Shinra running the place here. I'm just here to keep a look out of my city, making sure it's running smoothly" he scoffed, "So I stay here with the books. I hardly get any visitors"

"Listen sir" Bernie said, "We need to get to the next floor. Do you by any chance have the key for the lift?"

The Mayor stared at her for a moment then said softly, "Why yes I do young lady, I do. Do you need it?"

"Yes" Cloude said, "Please. If we could just borro-"

"Why?" the Mayor asked, "Why do you need it?"

"Because sir" Trey said, "We hate Shinra as much as you do. We know you want your town back, to be the top man of Midgar again. We're here to put a stop to Shinra, we want them gone. If we can get to the next floor, it'll be a big help. If you help us, we can help you"

"I dunno" the Mayor said, "Shinra will be hard to unseat"

"Please Mr Mayor, Sir" Cloude pleaded, turning up whatever charm she had, "We really need this. All we ask for is to get to the next floor. We want Shinra gone, you want Shinra gone. Where is the harm in helping us? Please, we need that card"

The Mayor looked at her, his face full of emotion. He lowered the lantern, reached into his waistcoat and produced a card that had the number sixty-three on it.

"How can I say no to those big blue eyes?" he muttered, handing her the card, "You promise me you are here to get rid of Shinra?"

"Yes" Bernie replied, "They have a friend of ours captive and we need to get him. We also want revenge for what they did to Sector Seven"

"Yes" the old man said sadly, "A terrible thing. I watched it fall from my window here. I begged with the President to not do it, but he did not listen. He never listens to anyone but himself. Fine, go ahead. You have my full support"

"Thank you" Trey said, bowing respectfully. They turned and got into the lift once it had been called and used the card to get to the next floor.

"What a nice man" Bernie smiled.

_I didn't write the part where they have to get the password for the Mayor because not only was it a bit long winded, but the chapter would have been too long if I had added it. So I just put him as a kind old man who wanted to help the team with their mission. Hope you didn't mind._

_Keza xXx_


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Eighteen**

The next room was a maze of doors. They entered the only one that was open and put in the card. It told them something about getting three coupons to open the next lift but to get the coupons that were in different rooms, they were only allowed to open three doors maximum. Then a map came up on the screen, showing them where the coupons where.

"If we go through his door first" Cloude said, pointing at a red line that indicated doors, "We can get the first coupon, then we'll open that one to get the next and then, ah no, that way we need to open two doors to get the last coupon so we can't do that"

"Look" Trey said, also pointing at the screen, "There's a ventilation shaft that leads from the first room with a coupon to another. Then we can get to the last coupon by opening that door. That way, we only need to go through two doors"

"Ah" Bernie smiled, "come on then"

Following Treys directions, and using the ventilation shaft, they were back in front of the computer within three minutes, entering the three coupons into a slot. Writing then appeared on the screen, telling them that the lift they had used to get to this room was now unlocked for the next floor. Doing as told, they went to the lift, up and exited the lift where they came to a gym. People were working hard to become fit and healthy here, but they didn't talk to anyone.

The looked around, needing another card to get to the next floor. In the locker room, although they felt awful about it, they rummaged through clothes to see if they could find it there. Luckily, Bernie found it rolled up in a pair of sweaty men's socks. Back into the lift where the next floor was empty aside from a large model of Midgar in the centre of the room. The writing on a plaque next to the model told them to get to the next floor, they needed to complete the model. And as they looked, they saw pieces like a jigsaw were missing from the model.

Frustrated, they searched the room that were on this floor, finding the pieces in boxes, in desks, in safes and cabinets, and when the Midgar model was complete, it glowed green and a click from the lift told them they had done all that was needed here.

"Damn puzzles" Bernie snarled as they went back into the lift and pressed the newly alighted up button, "It was easier when we were just after the cards"

Floor sixty-six, they were in what seemed to be the important floor. Employees ran around madly, not even glancing at them. In a room, they saw that there was a meeting behind held, but the door was shut so they could not eavesdrop.

"President Shinra is in there" Trey said, "We might be able to hear where they are keeping Aris. We need to get in somehow"

Cloude looked up; on the roof was a ventilation grille, just above the meeting. Looking around, there were grilles everywhere.

"We'll have to go through the ventilation system" she said, "If we can't get into the meeting, we'll be above it"

"How do we get into the system?" Bernie asked.

"The bathroom" Trey said, "I know it sounds cliché, but we won't get spotted if we get into the system there"

"That's just gross" Bernie said, "But we have no other choice do we? Lead the way"

"I have no idea where the bathroom is" Trey hissed.

"We'll just have to look around" Cloude said, "Come on"

They went down a corridor that was to their left, reading on plaques on doors what rooms they were passing. Soon, they came to a door that read 'bathroom' and they went in. It was empty. It was very white and extremely clean. Clicking the catch into place, it assured them that no one was going to walk in on them.

Going into a cubicle, Cloude stood on the toilet that was underneath a vent and pulled the grille off.

"Give me a boost" she said. Trey came over and hoisted her up into the vent, the coldness hitting her straight away. The shaft was rather large, so she crawled carefully along it with ease. Light emitted further along, so as Trey and Bernie also climbed up, she went over to it, finding it to be another grille and this one looking down into a grand looking room with a deep red carpet, people sitting around the long brown table, little computer screens in front of them all. When Trey and Bernie caught up, they moved silently so that they all could see what was going on.

"Geez" Bernie whispered, "That's a lot of suits"

"We have the damage estimates for Sector Seven" they heard a black-haired woman in a blue suit say, holding up a wedge of documents. "Everything considered, like factories and other projects we were invested in, the damage's total cost is about ten billion Gil". The woman shuffled her notes and produced one slice of paper, "The cost to rebuild Sector Seven-"

"We're not rebuilding" the President said gruffly at the head of the long table.

The woman looked shocked, her brown eyes wide, "W-what?"

"We're not rebuilding" the President repeated, "We're leaving it as it is"

Two men on one side of the table, one in a green suit and the other in yellow, looked and grinned at each other. A handsome blond man in fashionable red looked gleeful. The President, also in red, cleared his throat, "We'll restart the Neo-Midgar plan"

"Then the Ancients?" the black haired woman continued carefully.

The President smirked, "The Promised Land will soon be ours" he looked around the table, "I want you to raise the Mako levels by fifteen per cent everywhere"

"Rate hike!" the man in yellow beamed, bouncing in his chair, "Rate hike! Please President Shinra, include our Space Program into the budget!"

"Renee and Scott will divide the extra income from the rate increase" the President said, waving a hand at the only woman in the room and the blond man. The man in yellow slumped in his chair.

"But sir" Renee protested, "if you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence"

The President merely sighed irritably, "It'll be alright. The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence. They'll trust Shinra Inc. even more"

The man in green laughed, stroking his long, bushy black beard. "After all" he smirked, "We're the ones who saved Sector Seven from AVALANCHE"

"That dirty bastard!" Bernie snarled, body racked with rage.

Both Cloude and Trey told her to be quiet as they watched as the door to the room opened and an old, dark haired woman in a white coat came inside. She had thick glasses and walked in with a smug look on her face.

"Hojo" the President said as the old woman stood at the end of the table, "How's the boy?"

"As a specimen" Hojo replied, her voice musty and nasally, "He is inferior to his mother. I am still in the process of comparing him to his mother, Ifalna, but for now, the difference it eighteen per cent"

"How long will the research take?" the President asked.

Hojo clamped her wrinkled hands behind her back and looked at the roof. The hiding trio slipped back out of sight. "Probably one hundred and twenty years" Hojo replied, "It's impossible to finish in our lifetime, even in the lifetime of the specimen for that matter"

Hojo looked back down and smirked, "That is why we are thinking of breeding him. Then we'll have one that could withstand our research for a long time"

"What about the Promised Land?" the President inquired, "Won't it hinder our plans?"

"That is why I need a plan" Hojo replied, chuckling.

The President sighed, getting to his feet, "That concludes our meeting" he said. One by one, the occupants of the room left. The blond man got gracefully to his feet and flicked his wavy, shoulder length hair over his shoulder. He looked up at the vent, causing the trio to shift back even further, and turned up his nose. "Something stinks" he murmured as he left the room.

"They were talking about Aris . . . right?" Cloude asked once the room below them was empty.

"I dunno" Bernie answered.

"Probably" Trey replied.

"Let's follow them" Cloude replied, backing out of the vent, "They might lead us to Aris"

They climbed out of the vent, Bernie gagging as she misjudged her jump and one of her legs went into the open toilet, water splashing up her boot.

Out of the bathroom and down the corridor, they saw the back of the old woman named Hojo, her greasy ponytail bouncing as she walked. The scientist went through a door and up a pair of steps, walking leisurely. They followed her as she went through another door and around a curved corridor, the floor here dark and dimly lit.

"I remember her" Bernie said, "She's in charge of the Science Department here. Cloude, don't you know her?"

"This is the first time I've seen her" Cloude replied, "So that's what she looks like"

"Come on" Trey said, "Let's continue following her before we lose sight of where she's going"

They came to a room full of boxes but had to hide behind one when they saw that Hojo had stopped walking and was looking into a glass cage that held a creature inside.

"My precious specimen" she said, her hands up against the glass, the creature inside was pacing. She tapped the side and the animal turned away. Smirking, she left the way they come, obviously coming this way just to look at the creature in the glass cage.

"Precious specimen?" Trey said as they moved from their hiding spot and moved closer to the animal inside. It looked to be a red furred dog, long darker strands of it on its head and down the middle of its back. It had a feather pointing up from the long fur and had thick, gold bangles on each of its legs. It's right eye however was not open, seeming to be closed shut by a scar that was across it. On its body were black markings, like tattoos. The numerals for thirteen were on its shoulder. And at the base of its tail was a flame of fire, bright and yellow, steaming up the glass. It looked up at Trey with a sad yellow eye.

"Is it going to be used for biological experiments?" Trey said sadly, placing one of his hands onto the glass.

Cloude however was looking at something to her right. It seemed to be a door with a valve on it. Above the valve was a rectangular glowing window, so they were able to see inside.

"Jenova" Cloude read from below the little window. She took a few steps forwards and on her tip toes, looking inside. Whatever 'Jenova' was, it was in the shape of a female human, its body thin and sickly blue, something like veins were besides it, rings of blue around its body. Its head however, was not there.

Stepping away from the sight in horror, the ear piercing squeal that she had last heard was when she was in the Honey Bee Inn, filled her head. Clutching her burning head, she fought to keep her tear filled eyes open. She fell to her knees and the sound made Bernie turn around. The squealing stopped and she fell forwards, caught before she hit by Trey who had run over as soon as Cloude held her head.

"Jenova" Cloude whispered hoarsely, "Sephira's . . . so . . . they brought it here?"

"Be strong" Trey said.

Cloude looked up at him, eyes wide and swimming with unshed tears from the pain that had subsided. "Did you see it?" she asked.

"See what?" Bernie muttered, looking between the blonde woman who shakily got to her feet and the little window.

"It's moving . . . still alive?" Cloude muttered.

Confused, Bernie went over to the door and peered into the window. She arched a brow and turned back to Cloude with a frown on her face, "Where's its fucking head? This is stupid. Let's keep goin'"

"Yeah" Trey said, looking at Cloude cautiously. "We've probably lost Hojo by now. There's a lift over there, it might take us somewhere we need to be"

The trio went over to the lift, thankful that it did not need a card for it to move. Pressing the up button, it did not take long for the doors to ping open and let them out. They came out into a room that had _science _written all over it. The floor and walls were all made of steel and all sorts of computers and technical objects were littered around the place. The floor in the middle went down into a large ditch, steps leading the way. In the middle of this ditch was a glass container, tall and round and glowing with a light blue light. They all looked at it and saw that there was a lonely figure inside.

"Aris!" they all yelled at once.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Aris?" grunted a voice from not far away, "So that is his name? What do you want?"

They looked up, stood on some steps, looking down at Aris was Professor Hojo herself, crinklier and uglier close up. Her dark hair was pushed back into a ponytail that ended between her shoulder blades. The white lab coat she was still wearing had splashes of dark red and black all over it, something they did not see when looking down.

Angry, Cloude replied, "We're taking Aris back!"

Hojo looked down at her feet, a small smile on her lips, "Outsiders" she said, "There are so many frivolous things in this world" she glanced up when the trio ran over to her, weapons ready. "Are you going to kill me?" she smirked, eyebrow raised, "Oh, I don't think you should. The equipment here is very delicate. Without me, who could operate it, hhmm?"

Reminding herself that Aris was in a container that Hojo probably built, if they killed the woman, they might not be able to get Aris out. Placing her sword back onto her back, Cloude looked away. Aris, who was now pressed against the glass of his imprisonment, hands and nose pressed against it, watched earnestly.

"That's right" Hojo smiled as Bernie lowered her gunarm, "I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash decisions" she looked to the roof where there was a camera and speaker phone and said loud and clear, "Bring in the Specimen"

A whirring sound could be heard coming from inside the glass container. They watched as Aris unglued himself away from the glass and slowly turned around. The middle of the floor opened up and something was rising from it. Pressing himself as far as he could, Aris watched with wide eyes as the red animal from the floor below rose into the container. It growled, raised its alight tail high in the air and crouched low as if it were to pounce on the man. Horrified, Aris turned around and pounded the glass walls furiously. "Help!" he yelled as the animal flexed its claws.

Cloude, Bernie and Trey ran over to the container, trying to open the door or break through the glass. Cloude turned to Hojo and hissed, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Hojo chuckled. "Lending a helping hand to an endangered species. Both of them are on the brink of extinction. If I don't help, all these animals will disappear"

"Animal?" Trey snapped, turning away from the container, "That's awful. Aris is a human being!"

"Can't we do anything?" Cloude yelped.

"Hold back" Bernie snarled, going over to the door and aiming at it.

"STOP!" Hojo cried.

Bernie fired relentlessly at the door. Aris ran as far away from it as he could, the animal inside watching his every move. Suddenly, the lights around the container intensified into a blinding white light, covering the two occupants inside. Hojo screamed and pushed Bernie aside and pressed against the glass.

"No" she yelled, "What do you think you are doing? My precious specimens!"

Suddenly the door slid open and something red streaked out, slamming into Hojo and knocking her flying on her back, the red animal pressed hard onto the old woman's body and had its jaws clamped around her neck. Cloude ran inside the container, grabbing Aris's arm as his eyes were tight shut. She flung him out where he slammed into Trey who caught him. Before she left the container, the lights dimmed and another whirring sound could be heard. Cloude turned around, wondering if something else would come out from the floor, but when nothing did, she slowly backed away.

"What is it, Cloude?" Trey asked, who was helping Aris to his feet.

Grunting, Hojo pushed the red animal from off of her. "This is no ordinary specimen that is arriving" she croaked, getting up," This is a rather ferocious specimen"

"The thing that will be here soon is rather strong" the animal said, making them all jump. "I'll help you all out"

"I-it talked!" Trey gasped.

"I'll talk as much as you want later, Mr" it said. Its voice female, kinda similar to a wise old woman's.

Suddenly, the lift inside began moving; something was coming up, the thing that the animal mentioned. Cloude ran out of the container and spoke to the group.

"We'll take care of it" she said, "Somebody needs to take care of Aris, get him somewhere safe"

"I'll do it" Trey said who still had hold of the weak man, "You can count on me"

Nodding, both men left the centre of the room and went to the side so that Trey could heal the older man, having to drag him the whole way. Cloude turned to the animal.

"What's your name?"

"Hojo has named me Red Thirteen" she said, "A name that has no meaning whatsoever to me, so call me what you wish"

"Red it is then" Bernie said as the lift showed them a monsters head that had come from it. It had long, hook like arms, no eyes, its face just a giant mouth with long, pointed teeth and spikes on its back. It roared as it appeared.

Before it even had chance to move, Cloude fired up her Materia and sent a bolt of lightning firing down onto it. The monster shuddered, growling as it moved over to them, climbing its way out of the container. It raised one of its arms, one that was bigger than the other, and swiped at them, hitting Bernie in the chest.

"Damn it's strong" she growled as she rubbed her front where she had been struck.

Red then launched herself at the creature, sinking her teeth deep into its bigger arm, black blood trickling from the little puncture holes she had created. The beast roared and moved its arm in a violent slashing motion, causing Red to lose grip and let go. Bernie fired bullets at the creature just as a warm feeling went up Cloude's arms from her sword. Unlike before, this feeling was different. Trusting herself, she ran forwards and in an X motion, slashed the animal across its chest, the X sinking deep into the animals skin and leaving a mark. Just after the X was deeply burned into flesh, a weak flash of white surrounded it, telling them that Bernie had once again summoned her Ice Materia but not being good at it. Red attacked again, using her teeth to bite everywhere she could reach, her slim body like a red dart. Then, a fireball appeared at the end of Bernie's gunarm, and realising what was about to happen as the ball grew bigger and brighter, Cloude called Red away, not wanting her to be hit as well. Not needing to be told twice, Red jumped over to them just as the fireball was catapulted from Bernie's gun and slammed right into the beasts open mouth, the fire ball firing out of the back of its head. It stood there, immobile for a few moments before t keeled over to the side, black ooze issuing everywhere, and lay dead on the floor, its muscles twitching.

"What was that?" Bernie yelped, wiping her brow.

"Another specimen" Red replied, "When you opened the door to the container, you must have hit something by mistake that made it come here. It was a few good floors below us"

"Whatever it is" Cloude replied, nudging the creature's unmoving arm with her foot, "It's dead now"

Aris and Trey walked over, Aris being fully healed and Trey a little upset that he couldn't have joined in the fight.

"Are you feeling ok now?" Cloude asked.

"He seems all right . . . in many ways" Trey replied, glaring at Red who grimaced.

"Hey, I have a right to choose, too. I don't like two legged things"

"What are you?" Bernie asked.

Red turned her one good eye to the black woman who then realised that her question might not have been tactful, but Red did not seem bothered, "An informed question" she said lightly, "But difficult to answer. I am what you see"

Rolling her eyes, wanting to say that the answer given did not answer her question, Bernie looked at the rest of the group, but all were looking at Red who then said, "You must have many questions, but first, let us get out of here. I'll lead the way" she then looked mournfully up at Aris who was hiding a little behind Trey. "I'm sorry for what happened back there" she said, "I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard . . . I would have caused you no harm"

"Th-that's alright" Aris replied, a little braver now, "I understand"

Impatient, Bernie stamped her foot, "Now that we've got Aris, isn't it about time that we left this building? Let's get the hell outta here!"

"Yeah" Cloude agreed, "But, we'll have to split up in two groups. All five of us together will be easily noticed. I'll head one group and Trey-"

"Hey" Bernie interrupted, "I am still the head of AVALANCHE! A puny thing like you should stop giving orders._ I'll_ head the next group" she turned to Red and pointed, "You. I still don't trust ya. You're coming with me" she turned to the guys, "You go with blondie. We'll meet at the sixtieth floor"

"Don't be late" Red murmured as both ran over to a set of stairs the other side of the room, leaving down them.

Rubbing the back of his head, Aris handed out a yellow Materia ball to Cloude, "I stole this from the Turk who was holding me" he said, "I think it's an Enemy Skill Materia"

"Keep it" Cloude replied, "You don't have any on you do you?"

Nodding, Aris popped the yellow ball into his bangle and straightened up, "Lead the way" he grinned. Running the same way at Bernie and Red, they came to some steps that told them led to the next floor. On the steps, a lone card lay forgotten. Trey picked it up.

"Floor sixty-eight" he said, "Hojo must have dropped it when she scarpered during your fight with that monster. I was going to go after her, but she was gone by the time I realised she was running for it"

"We don't need sixty-eight" Cloude said, running down, "We're done here"

"Keep hold of it just in case" Aris said as Trey slipped the card into his back pocket. Running down the steps and onto the floor below, they ran over to the lift, knowing it would take them down to floor sixty.

"And we're doing going anywhere near those stairs" Trey hissed as they waited for the doors to open.

"No" Cloude replied, "If Hojo has ran for it, she has probably told people we're here. We'll use the lift to go down to the ground floor. No point staying quiet now"

The door opened and they went inside, the view of Midgar below them. The doors closed but soon were opened again. Looking at the newcomer, they all froze when they saw what suit she was wearing. Turk.

This woman was black and had short, dark hair in a pixie like cut. They couldn't see her eyes as they were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. Her ears were covered in piercings and she didn't smile or frown when she saw them.

"Hey!" Cloude snarled, "What is this?"

The Turk pointed up and said in a smooth, monotone voice, "Would you press 'up' please?"

"Must be a trap" Trey growled, balling his hands into fists.

The black Turk stepped aside, and with the lift doors still wide open, Tenzin, the Turk leader who had taken Aris in the first place walked inside, hands clamped behind her back, no emotion on her wise face.

"Must have been a real thrill for you all" she hissed, "Sneaking into here. Did you enjoy it?"

They were cornered. In the tight space of the lift, they couldn't defend themselves when Tenzin and the black Turk over powered them and tied their hands behind their backs with thick ropes that burned into their skin. Cloude growled as Tenzin grabbed her sword from her back.

"Big weapon" she said as the other Turk used her card so make the lift go up, "I remember something similar to this"

Furious, Cloude turned away, not wanting to admit defeat. With his hands tied up, Trey was just as helpless as any of them and Aris couldn't even summon his staff, (not like it would help much if he could).

When the lift stopped, they came to a hallway that was long and thin. Rena the Turk from the church was stood there, waiting for them, her EMR on her shoulder, ready to use it if anyone stepped out of line. She smirked at the captives.

"Me and Rita will take them from here boss" she grinned, "They can't do much damage"

"Very well" Tenzin nodded, grabbing Aris's forearm and leading him in another direction. "Take them two to the President"

"Righto boss" Rena sneered as Tenzin left them, Aris protesting the whole way. Smirking, Rena stepped up close to Cloude, matched in height. "Not so tough without your little knife, are you?" she gloated, giving her a little prob in the ribs with the EMR, luckily it was not turned on. "You're just a weak, little-"

But what Cloude was, they did not hear, as Cloude spat into Rena's face, the spittle hitting her in one of her aqua coloured eyes. Wiping it away furiously, she charged the rod up and raised it above her head.

"How dare you!" she screeched. And she was about to slam the EMR down onto the blonde with as much strength as she could, but the black Turk named Rita grabbed the redhead by the wrist.

"No" she said, "We're to take them to the President, not to harm them"

Defeated, Rena lowered her arm, glaring daggers at a now smug Cloude. Following orders, Rita grabbed Trey, and Rena – with more forced than needed – grabbed Cloude, and together, they went down the corridor and up some steps and into a large, metal like office, large windows showing the city of Midgar behind a large desk where the President sat. He watched as his two employees arrived with their captives and put them in front of him, his chin resting on his linked fingers. Rena and Rita left without a word, but soon came back with two other beings. Bernie with her arms also tied and Red whose legs were tied to one another, loose enough so that she could walk but tight enough that she could not run or jump. As they stood next to Trey, Cloude glanced at the President who smirked and stood up from his chair.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty **

"You all got caught too?" Cloude whispered to Bernie as the President walked around his desk. But Bernie did not answer, her eyes telling the blonde one thing – _well_, _obviously_.

The President stopped in front of them and smirked. He looked at them in turn, looking them all up and down, sizing them up. Once again, his eyes lingered a bit too long on Cloude and Bernie.

"Where's Aris?" Cloude snarled as the silence sped long enough.

"Somewhere safe" the President replied softly, leaning on his desk. "He's the last surviving Ancient, don't you know!? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. But now are forgotten pages in history"

"Cetra?" Red muttered, looking at the humans, "That boy . . . a survivor of the Cetra?"

The President continued as if not interrupted, "The Cetra or the Ancients will lead the way to the Promised Land! As the last of his kind, I am expecting a lot out of him"

"The Promised Land?" Red said, "But . . . that is just a legend"

"Even if that is true . . . it was too good of an opportunity to pass up" the President said, "It has been said that the Promised Land is very fertile. And if that is true . . ."

"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Bernie hissed angrily.

"Exactly" the President smirked, "That is why our Mako Reactor is necessary. This is where our plan, Neo-Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory!"

"Bastard!" Bernie roared, making the rest of them jump, "Quit dreaming!"

"Oh?" he smirked, going over to stand right in front of the black woman, "These days, all it takes is a little money and power to make dreams come true" he turned away and went back over to his desk, "Well, this concludes the ending of our meeting"

Rita stepped forwards standing to their right. They all watched her as she called them over, "All right" she said, "Come on, outta his way"

Cloude, Trey and Red, realising that they were fighting a losing battle, moving aside where Rena and the other Turk was stood. Bernie however did not move.

"Hold it" she snapped at the President, "I got a lot I wanna say to you!" she stormed over to the man who didn't seem to be in a rush to move, but as Rita slammed into Bernie and pushed her back, he didn't really need to.

"Get off me" Bernie screamed as Rita dragged her away, "Get your filthy hands off me! Oi, _Shit_ra! This ain't over!"

The President sighed and brushed down his suit, "If you need something else, talk to my secretary".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

It was later in the day. Morning had risen but they could not see it. The four of them had been separated into different jail cells, two in each. Cloude and Trey in one and Bernie and Red in another. Cloude sat on the floor of theirs, leaning against the wall as Trey was spread out on the only bed, arms tucked behind his head, ankles crossed. A single bed and a toilet were the only objects to accompany them in the cell, the walls cold and grey and the floor made of hard wood.

Yawning, Trey turned his head and looked at Cloude, "Do you think we'll be able to get out?" he whispered.

"Sure" she replied, "Leave it to me"

Trey smirked and looked back at the roof, "I always do. You're the brains of this team"

Cloude looked at her feet, "Not really" she sighed, "I'm just . . . reckless and lucky. My plans don't usually work out. You're the smart one"

Trey blinked but did not answer, his mind going blank. Cloude got to her feet, but in doing so, she smacked the wall behind her accidently with her elbow, making her hiss out in pain.

"Cloude?" came a voice muffled through the wall, "Trey? Bernie? Red dog thing? Is that one of you?"

"Aris?!" Cloude spluttered, turned to the wall and flattening herself against it, "You're safe?!"

"Yeah" came his reply, "I'm good. I knew that you and the rest would come for me"

"Yeah" Cloude smiled, "I'm your bodyguard remember?"

She heard Aris chuckle, "The deal was one date, right?"

"Oh". Trey sat up quickly on the bed, the springs bouncing and slamming together. Cloude looked over her should to see that Trey was staring at the wall in front of him, his features hard and still. "I get it" he said sternly.

"Huh?!" Aris spluttered, "Trey? Trey, you're in there too?"

"EXCUSE me" Trey said, like he had just barged into a private conversation. He turned on the bed, and sat sideways on it, his arms resting on his legs. "You know, Aris. I have a question"

"W-what?"

Gritting his teeth, Trey opened his mouth but no words came out. But what he did ask seemed to be something that he forced himself to say, something that he didn't originally want to ask, "Does the Promised Land really exist?" he asked lamely, looking at the floor.

Aris let out a sigh, "I don't know" he said softly, they heard him pace his room, "All I do know is that the Cetra are born from the Planet, speak with the Planet and unlock the Planet. And then . . . the Cetra will return to the Promised Land, a land of supreme happiness"

"What does that mean?" Trey grunted, now glancing up.

"More than words" Aris replied, "I don't know"

"Speak with the Planet?" Cloude said as Trey turned on the bed and laid back down into his original position, his face still void of emotion.

"And what exactly does the Planet say?" Trey asked, the tone he used it in was almost scorning, comical even.

Aris however, did not hear the sarcastic tone, "It's full of people therefore it is noisy" he replied, "That is why I can't make out what they are saying"

"You can hear them now?" Cloude asked, amazed.

"I heard it back in the church in the Slums" Aris sighed, "Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. This is . . . my real mother". They heard the bed springs ping so they assumed that Aris had either sat or lay down. But he continued talking, "One day, I'll get out of this city and speak with the Planet and find my own Promised Land . . . that, that is what mother said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but . . ." he stopped taking. The silence telling them that their conversation was over.

Sighing, Cloude pushed herself from the wall. Trey however, spoke up instead, "We should also check up on those two" he said dully, raising his fist and banging on the wall next to him.

They heard a small tap back, "Hey" said Bernie, "I heard it all. Aris is an Ancient and the real names of the Ancient's are the Cetra, huh? So, since Shinra are searching for the Promised Land that only the Cetra can lead to, and Aris is the last one? I heard stories about the Promised Land, so I wonder if it really exists" she sighed, "It's meant to be full of Mako, right? If Shinra get a hold of it, the Planet will wither away, become weaker. We can't let that happen! We'll grow stronger, we'll recruit more members! Me, you two and Aris . . . what about you?"

Cloude suspected that the last bit was directed at Red because they heard a yawn and Bernie say softly, "So damn boring".

"Grandma . . ." they heard the animal say dreamily.

"Grandma?" Bernie muttered, "Ha ha, Grandma!"

"What's so funny?" Red snarled.

Bernie chuckled, "Nuffin"

"We should do as Red is" Trey whispered, still glaring at the roof like it had wronged him somehow, "Get some sleep. Do you want the bed?"

"No" Cloude replied, "The floor will do"

She went back over to the wall and slid down it, hitting the floor with a little bump. She didn't feel like sleeping but she thought that she should relax her body for whatever was planned for the next day. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Her eyes flittered open; Treys still form blurry as her vision adjusted. He came into more focus, Trey presenting her his back as he had rolled over to sleep. She was still in the sitting position she was in when she had drifted off into a dreamless slumber. She slowly got up, stretching out her back as she did so, the sensation feeling odd as she no longer had her sword to weight her down. She thought about maybe using the toilet as Trey was asleep, but something new caught her eye. She turned her head to her left and her eyes widened. The door was open, the light above it now blue rather than the red it had been before she fell asleep. Curious as to why it was open, she cautiously went over to it, just peeking her head out of it. She looked right and saw a wall and the door leading to Bernie and Reds cell, also open, then left where Aris's door was also not locked. But outside Aris's cell door was a red clad man on the floor, not moving.

Turning back, she went over to Trey and shook him awake. Trey grumbled about not wanting to wake up, but Cloude shook him harder until he opened his eyes and grumpily looked at her.

"What?" he grunted.

"Door is open" Cloude replied as he sat up, "But that's not all, something weird is happening. Just look outside"

Trey's face contorted with confusion as he pushed himself from the bed and went outside, eyes wide. Cloude followed him as they went over to the fallen guard covered in blood. Trey bent down and pressed his fingers against the man's neck, after a few moments, Trey shook his head and stood up.

"I wonder what happened" he muttered as Cloude bent down and picked up her sword, obviously this guard was on duty to not only keep guard on them but also her weapon. Feeling a mixture of pleasure but anger, she attached it back where it belonged.

"I dunno" Cloude replied, "You go wake Aris and I'll go get Bernie and Red"

Trey nodded mutely as Trey ran into Aris's room and woke him up as Cloude ran to the bottom cell where her footsteps woke Red up who looked up drearily.

"Something is wrong" Cloude said as she shook Bernie awake, earning a glare from the black woman who soon looked worried. "Come on"

"How did you get in?" Bernie asked.

"Why was the door open?" Red replied, getting up from the floor and walking over.

"I dunno" Cloude said as Bernie got up, "The guard outside is dead. I just woke up and all of the doors were open. Come on, we need to get out here fast"

The three of them left the jail cell just as Trey and Aris were leaving the first one, Aris still a little sleepy but confused.

"What's happening?" he muttered, clumsily putting his shoulder length auburn hair into its ponytail.

Cloude shrugged as Bernie and Red examined the guard's body with disgust.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Bernie snarled.

"No human could have done this" Red grunted, "I'll go on ahead"

She turned and went down the corridor that was down the side of the jail cells. The four of them watched her go until she was out of sight, the light from her flame tail still visible even if she was not.

"You guys go on ahead" Bernie said, "I'll clean up here. We can't have Shinra blaming us for this too. DO NOT let anyone capture you"

Cloude turned to the men of the group. Trey looked confident even if a little scared but Aris looked a little reluctant to do anything, his eyes glued to the dead man, whose body Bernie was hoping to hide.

"We'll follow Red" Trey said confidently.

They went down the corridor and turned right, automatically coming to another dead employee sprawled on the floor. Aris gave a little whimper as they ran past him, coming to the place where they first saw Red and where Jenova was being kept. The room was a complete mess, dark red blood covering the floor and splattered up the walls. A shredded man lay on the floor next to the container that held Jenova but that too was trashed, looking like someone had forced themselves inside. Red was sat in the middle of the blood covered room, staring at Jenova's container, Jenova nowhere to be seen.

"Jenova" Cloude whispered, "Did it get away?"

"Jenova Specimen" Red said, "Looks like it went to the upper floor using that lift for the specimens" and leading the way, Red ran around the corner and over to the lift that they had used when saving Aris. All four of them crammed into the lift and Trey pressed the up button. They entered the room where they had found Aris where Red ran out first, stopping at another dead man on the floor. A trail of blood leading through the doorway at the back.

"It's leading up" Red said mournfully.

"We'll go ahead" Cloude said, "Stay here"

Following the line of blood, they went through the doorway and up the stairs leading to the next floor. They came to a mass of rooms, the trail leading them around like a maze. It lead them to the entrance room and up a set of stairs, the purple carpet now stained red. The next floor was President Shinra's office, the trail of blood stopping at the top of the steps. They went over to the desk where there was a slumped figure lying across it. As they drew closer, they all gasped in horror at the sight. It was President Shinra, his eyes wide open in shock, his mouth open with blood and a long, thin blade sticking out of his back like a flag pole.


	22. Chapter TwentyOne

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-One**

As they drew closer, Bernie and Red also following the line of blood ran into the room, coming up to the desk. Bernie bent over the President with a look of disgust on her scarred face.

"He's dead" she whispered, "The leader of Shinra Incorporation is dead"

Trey went around the desk and joined Bernie next to the Presidents body, examining the katana sticking out of his back.

"Then this sword must be . . ."

"Sephira's!" Cloude snapped.

Trey looked up, glazing at Cloude, his eyes swimming with emotion and hurt, "Sephira is alive?" he croaked.

"Looks like it" Cloude said dully, "Only Sephira can use that sword"

"Who cares who did it?" Bernie said, a little smile on her lips, "This is the end of Shinra!"

Aris, feeling like they were being watched turned and saw that they were not alone in the room. Someone was hiding behind a pillar and as soon as he realised he had been spotted, he made a run for it. Quicker, Cloude grabbed the yellow suited man before he dashed away, the man's legs flailing in the air as he was stopped.

"P-p-p- please!" he wailed as Bernie ran over and grabbed his other arm to help keep hold of him, "Don't kill me!"

"What happened?" Cloude growled, the man still struggling for release.

The man - Palmer as they remembered him from the meeting - looked up at the blonde, his eyes full of tears, body shaking with fear. "Sephira!" he whispered, "Sephira came!"

"Did you see her?" Cloude instructed, "Did you see Sephira?"

"Yeah" Palmer blubbered, "I saw her, I saw her with my own eyes! Hair of long silver, eyes green and full of hate!"

"You really saw her?" Trey gasped.

"Would I lie to you at a time like this?!" Palmer yelped, "And I heard her voice too. She was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land"

"Huh?" Trey said, "Does that mean it really exists and that Sephira's saving it from Shinra?"  
>"So . . ." Bernie started slowly, "She's a good guy then?"<p>

"Save the Promised Land?" Cloude hissed, shaking her head, "Good guy? No way! It's not that simple, Sephira's mission is different, I know her"

"Sshh" Aris interrupted, putting a finger to his lips, "What's that noise?"

Trey turned around and went to the window, looking around the sky. He turned around as the noise got closer. "It's a helicopter" he informed.

Palmer, taking advantage of the women's loosened grips tore himself from their hold and ran across the office and out of a door to their left. No one took notice of him; all of them were staring out of the window as a large white helicopter flew past the window.

"Ruthie!" Bernie snarled, "Shit, I forget about her"

"Who?" Trey asked as they saw Palmer run past the window along the heli-pad and jump into the helicopter, only to be pushed out and joined by a woman in a white suit.

"Vice President Ruthie. The now ex-President's daughter" Bernie answered.

"Come on" Cloude snarled, running to the door Palmer had used to escape, "Let's give her our personal welcome"

They all followed her, the rush of the helicopter blades sending the wind rushing at them, their hair billowing around their faces. They ran around and stopped at the heli-pad, Palmer and the woman dubbed by Bernie as Ruthie Shinra were talking in loud voices so they could be hard over the helicopter blades.

"So" Ruthie said, hand on her hip, her short, honey blonde hair flying everywhere, "Sephira was actually here?"

"Yes" Palmer breathed as the blades began to slow down and eventually stop, "I'm afraid to say that your father-"

"Get inside" Ruthie interrupted, pointing at the helicopter. Palmer beamed and did as told. Ruthie looked up with a frown on her face and glared at them with her light blue eyes, "Who are you lot?"

"Cloude, former SOLDIER first class!" Cloude hissed.

"AVALANCHE" Bernie snapped.

"Same here" Trey added.

"Research Specimen" Red growled.

"Guy from the Slums" Aris ended.

Ruthie chuckled, "What a crew" she smiled, "Well, I am Ruthie Shinra, the President of Shinra Incorporation"

"You're only President coz your old man died!" Bernie snapped.

"That's right" Ruthie sneered, clasping her hands behind her back and turning to look at the city of Midgar, "I'll let you hear my new appointment speech" she looked up at the sky and began "Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. Everyone thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra . . . get your pay and if terrorists attack, Shinra Army would help" she turned to them and smirked, "It looks perfect on the outside, but I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It would take too much work if I did it like daddy dearest. A little fear will control the minds of the common people so there is no reason to waste money on them"

"Well" Trey scoffed, "She likes to make speeches like her father . . ."

"All of you" Cloude said, "Get out of here"

"What?" Bernie growled.

"I'll explain later. Bernie, this is a real crisis for the Planet"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bernie roared.

"I'll tell you later! Just go, I'll take care of Shinra. I'll follow later"

"Alright" Bernie fumed, grabbing hold of Aris's arm and pulling him to move, "Don't let us down"

And without any more complaints, the team aside from Cloude left the heli-pad. Cloude turned, glaring at the other blonde woman who was still smiling cruelly.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The team ran down the steps, Bernie and Aris in the lead and Trey taking the rear. They retraced their steps, careful to not step on the trail of blood. Suddenly as they were running, Aris stopped. The others turned to look back at him.

"I just thought of something" Aris murmured. "Cloude . . ."

Trey stepped forwards and gave him a push in the correct direction, "I'll wait here for her" he muttered, "You three get to the lifts"

"Alright" Aris nodded, realising that now was not a good time to dawdle, "The road from here is going to be tough"

"Here" Trey said, handing out his three Materia – Fire, Steal and All. "I want them back mind"

Aris took the Materia and kept the All one and handed Bernie the Steal and Red the Fire as she had already had a Materia bangle on her hind leg.

"Now go" Trey hissed, "Get to the lifts"

"Don't get hurt" Bernie said as the three of them left the floor and ran to the lifts, two side by side both going up and down. They went into one and pressed the down button. They could see the other lift through the glass and had to squint as they could see something in the other. Something dark and large. Suddenly the glass shattered, covering them with sharp shards. Gasping, they looked ahead and finally into focus was what seemed to be a large tank with four large wheels and many cannons. Both lifts were going down, the tank ready to fire some more.

"We'll have to fight this thing or it'll kill us" Bernie said, "Make sure none of you fall off the edge, it's a long way down"

Knowing that they could only use far range attacks, Bernie and Red fired up their Materia, the tank getting hit by a mixture of fire and ice, turning into water and getting into the mains of the tank, but that did not stop it. It raised one of its machine guns and fired at them, each of them getting hit once with a bullet. Bernie in the leg, Aris in the arm and the bullet just grazing Reds face.

Fighting bullets with bullets, Bernie fired relentlessly, her bullets cascading off the tanks body. Aris, whose arm bled heavily, felt his staff call to him and doing what felt right, swirled the staff in his hand where the three of them were engulfed in blue mist, the bullets lodging themselves out of their bodies and their wounds healing. Fire and Ice were used again but the tank did not stop. More bullets were exchanged but neither team was giving up.

Suddenly, Red ran forwards, blue ribbons circling around her body. Then like a furry red bullet, she shot forwards and slammed herself into the tank, leaving a large cracked dent in the middle of it. She jumped back over and attacked again with her Materia. The attack was soon joined by a fireball that had zoomed from Bernie's gunarm, the crack now a gaping hole showing all of the electrics inside.

Targeting one of them, the tank moved its cannon towards Red and fired, a large rocket charging towards her. Luckily, it did not hit as Red smoothly jumped over it, back flipping in mid-air and landing gracefully to her feet. The rocket however exploded behind them, sending them all forwards, near the edge of the lift. They all saw that they still had a way to go until they were at the bottom.

"Attack the hole!" Bernie yelled as she sent Ice firing into the gap, now getting used to her Materia, the attack was more powerful than before. The tank sparked, but as it moved its cannon towards Bernie, Red used her Fire Materia in the hole and the tank stopped moving. Its wheels smoked and out of control it surged forwards where it stopped at the edge. It suddenly went backwards and teetered off the edge but not quite over. Taking this chance, Red ran over and slammed into the tank, sending it flying off the edge and crashing to the ground below, the yellow crash of it exploding at the bottom was a tiny pinprick to their eyes as they were still far up.

"We did it!" Bernie yelled in joy, but something else could be heard. They all glanced up and had to duck quickly as something else flew at them. It looked like to be a crab like robot but hovering over them by propellers on its back.

"Shit!" Bernie roared, firing at it, the bullets denting its body.

It too had guns and it fired back, the bullets not hitting them but grazing their bodies. As it was in the air, only Materia and long range weapons could be used. But luckily, after a joined attack of Materia, the propellers smoked and stopped rotating; causing the crab to fall onto the lift the tank had been on.

"Now's our chance!" Red yelled and ribbons once again circled her body and she shot ahead and slammed into the robot. As she stepped away, a fireball hit the enemy, sending it over the edge, also falling to the ground as its propellers no longer worked.

"Quickly" Aris said, twirling his staff and healing them again under the blue sparkly mist, "In case something else arrives"

But luckily nothing else did arrive, the lift landed at the ground floor and they waited in the empty entrance hall for Cloude and Trey.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back up at the top, neither woman spoke for a while, light blue eyes boring into sparkling ones. Cloude slowly reached up and retrieved her sword from her back, holding it out in front of her. Also slowly, Ruthie reached into her coat and pulled out a gun, pointing it at the youngers chest.

"Why do you want to fight me?" Ruthie asked.

"You seek the Promised Land and Sephira" Cloude retorted.

Ruthie smirked, "Hm, exactly. Did you know that Sephira is an Ancient?"

Cloude frowned as Ruthie walked over, standing in front of the still helicopter, Palmers piggy face eagerly watching them through the window.

"A lot has happened" Cloude snarled, turning her body to once again face Shinra, "Anyway; I can't let either you or Sephira have the Promised Land!"

"I see" Ruthie sighed, "I guess that this means that we won't be friends"

Then without warning, she fired her gun, the bullet ricocheting off of Cloude's sword who was quick enough to put it in front of her as a shield.

The helicopter started to take flight again, hovering off the ground where something black and skeletal jumped out of the open door. It was a tall and skinny dog like creature, its tar light skin stretched painfully over its bones. It ran over to Cloude and jumped on her, its teeth aiming for her throat. She managed to push the beast off of her and kick it away where it ran back to Ruthie's side.

"Don't you like my pet?" Ruthie laughed as her next shot grazed Cloude's cheek, slashing the skin and blood falling down it and onto her neck.

"It's lovely" Cloude growled back sarcastically, firing up her Materia and hitting the President with a bold of lightning. Ruthie was thrown to her back but she got up quickly, laughing.

"I knew you would say that" she smirked, another shot imbedding itself in Cloude's left arm. She hissed out in pain and went to slash the other, but the dog like creature got in the way and sacrificed itself, the blade cutting straight through its chest, then thudded to the ground dead.

As she jumped back, she used her Cure Materia for the first time and used it to heal her wounds, the bullet dropping out of her skin. She dodged one bullet fired at her and used her sword to block another. Another Bolt hit the President before she had had enough of their little fight.

"Heh" she smirked, "That is all for today". And as the helicopter flew over them, Cloude had to duck as it was so low. Ruthie grabbed the bottom of it and as it soared in the air, Cloude watched as Palmer helped her inside. Soon the helicopter was just a black dot in the sky and in a blink of an eye it was gone.


	23. Chapter TwentyTwo

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Cloude watched the patch of sky where the enemy had escaped, the light breeze ruffling her hair and wiping gently across her face. Slowly, she replaced her sword on her back and let out a sigh of exhaustion. Feeling dizzy, she leant against the bar around the edge of the heli-pad and looked down. The rest of the group must be at the bottom now, waiting for her to arrive. Not wanting them to have a chance to worry about her, she shook her head quickly and ran back into the office where's Shinra's body still lay slumped over the desk, sword still protruding out of his large back. With not drop of sympathy, Cloude ran down the purple carpeted steps.

As she reached the bottom and was about to follow the red trail, Trey ran over to her beaming. She stopped in her tracks and glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped.

"Where's Ruthie?" Trey asked.

"Couldn't finish her off, she escaped. Things are gunna get complicated. Listen I got an idea"

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"I'll go on ahead" Bernie said, running towards the front door and opening it. Shots were fired and they all hit the door as Bernie shut it quickly and locked it. "Shit" she yelped, "Surrounded"

"You all get out while you can" Aris said lowly, "It's not you they are after, it's me"

"Ain't happening" Bernie growled, stepping away from the door. "You got caught up in all of this because of Marley. Now it's time for me to watch out for you" she turned to the door and got herself ready, "All right jackasses, play time is OVER!"

"Thank you, Bernie" Aris smiled.

"If you two are finished talking, may I suggest that we think of a way to get out of here?" Red interrupted.

"Huh?" Bernie said, "Yeah of course. You're so cold, just like someone else around here I know"

"BERNIE!" they heard someone yell. They looked up and saw Trey running as fast as his legs could carry him down the steps.

"Trey!" Bernie yelped as the man ran over to them, "Where's Cloude?"

"This way!" Trey called, running further into the back of the entrance hall. They followed close by.

"Where is Cloude?" Bernie repeated, "What is going on?"

"You'll find out in a minute" Trey beamed.

Something thundered overhead, something loud and not human. They all looked up as they ran but decided to ignore it. They soon happened across a green truck that was a show car. The thunderous sound came closer and soon a light reached them. As they got into the truck, Trey and Aris in the front with the older man at the wheel, Cloude skidded to a halt in front of them, mounted on a large, monstrosity of a motorbike, large, black and intimidating.

"Follow me" she called as Bernie got into the back as they were about to set off, Red having to run and jump onto it. They went to the back of the hall and flew up a flight of steps, the ride jittery and bumpy. They came to a halt at the top, facing one of the windows that led to a long and dark road. Cloude looked back at them and nodded, taking a roaring lead and smashed through the glass window, shards going everywhere. The little green truck followed suit, both landing on the road and thundering down it. Police alarms blared and search lights crisscrossed over each other to try and get them in the light, but they were too quick. Guards screamed as they flew overhead and landed, jumping onto their own motorbikes and tearing off down the road after the criminals.

Cloude in the lead, they kept on going, faster and faster, curving dangerously around bends and dodging traffic cones that had been placed around the area, the roads having been cut off.

As they went faster, sounds of over motorbikes reached their ears and Bernie yelled, "Here they come!"

Cloude reached behind her and took her sword out, controlling the bike one handed. She slowed down a little so that she was now behind the truck.

"Cover me" she yelled as the first of the attackers reached them but was soon swiped off his bike when Cloude took a swipe at him. Two more quickly advanced, one going over the handbrakes as Cloude jammed her sword into the wheel of the bike and the other enemy rider falling when he received a couple of bullets to the chest from Bernie.

Three more tore up to them, Cloude furiously ramming one of the bikes with hers and then slamming another into the wall of the tunnel they had just gone through, the guard skidding along the side of the tunnel and letting go of his bike, the third was also shot down. One shot up behind Cloude and rammed into her, almost unseating her. She turned around and struck out with her sword, the man letting go of his bike handles instinctively to hold his arms over his head. He lost control of his bike and slammed into the wall of the tunnel just as they were leaving it.

The city lights and buildings were a blur as they pelted past them; people on the streets were nothing but shapes and colours. Two more bikes streaked past, both attacking the truck. Bernie roared and punched one in the face where he tumbled off his bike and slid down the road, another bike hitting him and crashing. The other attacker of the truck reached inside the window and tried to grab hold of the wheel, but Aris let go and punched him in the face, Trey having to grab the wheel as the truck began swerving dangerously. The man let go of the wheel and started to ram the truck, but Red, feeling like she had not yet helped, reached over and bit the man on his hand, causing him to yelp and strike out. Taking the chance, Aris rammed into him and he was sent flying, not anticipating the attack. As this was all happening, four more bikes had also been taken care of by both Cloude and Bernie. The road took a violent curve and Bernie and Red, who had been fighting were almost thrown out of the back, Bernie having to grab Red around the middle with her gunarm and grabbing onto the side with the other. At this unfortunate point, three more bikes had decided to join the attack, two ramming the truck, forcing Bernie to hold on tighter, and one blocking Cloude's way, two people on it, a rider and a passenger that was sat backwards on it and was firing bullets at her. She used her sword to block the bullets as she raced ahead and slammed into them, unseating the shooter.

Electricity went up her arm from her sword and using most of her strength, she slammed the sword onto the road where a beam of light fired towards the bike in front of her and exploded. Then from that explosion, two more beams of curved light raced ahead and hit the two bikers that were attacking the truck, making them fly from their bikes.

They now had to put their foots down as the road started to steeply go uphill, gravity doing its work. One lone rider arrived as they went up, but he was quickly unseated by Bernie who, along with Red, had managed to get safely back into the back of the truck. Suddenly, they went down, faster than they had anticipated. Another bike shot past them, faster than all of the rest, but did not slow down. Because of this, he lost control of his bike and slipped, the bike flying towards Cloude who had to duck low and then had to swerve quickly so that she did not run over the guard.

Another tunnel but the raid of bikes seemed to have stopping coming towards them. Cloude heard Bernie whoop with joy, but it soon turned into a "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Cloude glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened. Sure there were no bikers after them, but something large and metal was now on their trail, its black tyres large and covered in spikes, cannons and guns mounted all over it and its body nothing short than pure thick metal. Cloude heard a loud screech ahead of her and saw that the truck was breaking hard, up head was a sign telling them to stop and she soon realised why. Skidding to a halt, they had reached the end of the road where the road just cut off, not continuing. When they had stopped just shy from falling off, the thing that was following them stopped and changed shape. Before it was a tank, but now with the wheels at the bottom, it changed and the top of it seemed to be a robotic person with two arms, a body and a head.

"Damn it" Bernie snarled as she and Red jumped off the back of the truck. Trey was the next to join them, pulling his leather gloves on tighter, then Aris, staff already at hand. Cloude got off the bike and they all stood in a line, ready for the fight. Bernie was the first to attack, bullets firing everywhere, but she had to stop as the bullets started bouncing back at them, the bodywork of the robot was obviously bullet proof.

Suddenly, the tyres of the robot suddenly squealed and raced towards them, sending Trey and Cloude, who were at its left, flying to the floor. Trying again, Bernie used her Materia to attack with Ice, melding the arms to the body so that it could not move. Then Red, still with Trey's Fire Materia also attacked, unfortunately, it melted the ice so that as soon as its arms were free, the robot/tank lashed out, hitting Aris in the chest just as he was about to cast something.

A powerful bolt of lightning struck the top of the machine, making one of the arms jerk and hit itself. Suddenly, out of the cannons, fire rushed at them, covering them and burning their skin and clothes. Cloude, as the fire roared away, jumped and sliced the fire cannon down the middle, the burning attack ceasing. All in pain, Aris who had fallen to the ground in the hopes to protect himself, got up and twirled his staff, the group getting covered in blue sparkles that healed their burns and making them feel stronger. Trey, with hands glowing, raced ahead and slammed his fists into one of the robots tyres where it fell off. Not finished, Trey ran to another tyre, jumped onto it and with a kick where he flipped backwards from it, the second tyre was ripped away. But still with four tyres left out of the original six, the robot did not stop attacking, ramming itself into Red who just barely got out of the way. But in a counter attack, Red rammed herself into its body as the ribbons surrounded her body.

The attack must have weakened the robot as it slumped, its already broken cannon cracking and falling to bits at the ground. Cloude raised her sword in the air and slammed it to the ground, a long, powerful beam of light hitting the robot and slicing through its side, a fireball from Bernie hitting a second later. With that attack, the robot spluttered and then collapsed in on itself, its mechanics giving off a loud clunk as it hit the tarmacked road. It gave a groan and then lay silent, unmoving. Everyone cheered as they defeated the robot, Cloude twirling her sword around her head and Red giving a wolf like howl. The men and Bernie brushed themselves down, looking at their damaged clothing.

Bernie looked up after a moment of silence, glaring at the mountains that they could see from their height, "What do we do now?" she asked.

Without comment, Cloude walked slowly to the edge of the unfinished road, four pairs of eyes following her as she stopped at the very edge and looked into the distance, the sky black, and the horizon behind the mountains pink.

"Sephira is alive" she said, "I . . . I have to settle the score!"

Bernie joined her at the edge, just a few steps behind the blonde, "And that will save the Planet?"

Cloude sighed, "Seems like it"

"Alright" Bernie nodded, "I'm coming with you. I'll do anything to ensure that my mission succeeds"

"I'll come too" Aris said, "I have a few things I want to find out"

"About the Ancients?" Cloude asked as the rest of the team joined her and Bernie at the end of the road, standing in a row at the end of it.

"Many things" Aris retorted.

"Midgar" Trey said, breathing in deeply and looking over his shoulder, "I guess this is goodbye"

"How are we getting out of here?" Red asked, looking down, "It's a long drop"

"Rope" Bernie cried happily, "There were a spare few bits and bobs in the back of the truck. There was rope, oh! I hope it didn't fly off when we were being attacked"

She ran back to the truck, all of them watching her as she went. She jumped into the back of the truck, glanced around and shouted back merrily, "Still here! What a stroke of luck"

She ran back, the long length of rope slung over her broad shoulder. Grinning, she tied the end to one of the support beams of the bridge and asked who wanted to go first after she had dropped the rest of it over the edge.

"I will" Cloude volunteered, grabbing the rope and giving it a testing tug. After confirming that it was secure, she began her decent, quickly and swiftly. Aris followed next then Bernie, Trey came last, holding onto Red who couldn't get down by herself. She jumped from Treys arms before he let go of the rope. They looked around the barren wasteland after leaving Midgar, ready to take on anything.


	24. Chapter TwentyThree

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

"We told your mum to go someplace safe" Bernie told Aris, "Her and Marley will both be OK"

Aris shrugged, "She said she didn't want to stay in Midgar, so maybe it's for the best" he looked around, hands on his hips and a smile on his face, "You know . . . this is the first time I've ever left Midgar"

"Really?" Cloude asked, "You worried?"

"A little" he admitted, "No . . . maybe a lot. But if I have you guys, and especially my bodyguard-" Trey gave an uncharacteristic snort "-I'll be fine, right?"

"Everyone will be fine" Bernie assured them.

"I guess this is the beginning?" Trey said. "Travelling all over the place"

"You hate travelling?" Cloude asked.

"Well, no" Trey replied, "But I have nowhere else to go do I? So I guess it doesn't really matter if I do or don't like travelling, does it?"

"I want to go back to my home town" Red said, "I'll accompany you all until there"

"That's fine" Cloude nodded, "No one is forcing you to accompany us on our mission, Red. We'll see you home safe. Don't worry" she turned to the whole group and held her head high.

"Alright everyone" she announced, "Let's go"

"Hey" Bernie interrupted, "We need a leader! And I think there's nobody here perfect for the job other than-"

"Cloude" Aris interrupted, hands clamped behind his back. Bernie looked up and ogled at him. Aris simply raised an eyebrow, "Cloude is leader" he repeated simply.

Bernie turned to Trey, "Do you agree?" she snapped.

Trey turned away, avoiding the woman's eyes as he mumbled, "Erm . . . well, I . . . you've been great but I sort of . . . yes, I do agree . . . sorry"

Bernie groaned, there was no point in asking Red since she would only be staying for a short time. "Alright" she growled, "It seems I've been booted out as leader. We'll go to the town of Kalm; it's up in the North East, ok? But, of course, only if our _leader_ thinks so too"

She glared at the blonde furiously, not happy about having to possibly take someone else's orders, especially someone younger.

"I see no problem with that" Cloude nodded, "Then let's go"

Bernie sat down on the ground and folded her arms, "Maybe" she snorted, "Our new_ leader_ should split us up into two groups? We can't have five of us running around as a whole"

"Ok" Cloude said, turning to the older woman, "Since you're so adamant to keep some order, why don't you head one group and me the other? At least we'll be out of each other's hair for a while"

Bernie got to her feet but she neither smiled nor frowned. "Ok" she said tonelessly, "I'll take Trey with me, he has the healing items and you can go with Red and Aris. If you get hurt, he can heal you"

"Sounds good" Aris smiled, going over to Cloude's side.

"We'll go this way" Cloude said as Trey walked over to Bernie, "And you that way, I think it's quicker. We'll meet up with you soon"

"Before we go" Aris said, popping something out of his bangle, "We need to give you these back, they really helped us" he handed the Materia back to the Trey who took it without a thank you, Red and Bernie did the same. They left in different directions, hoping that they would see each other alive.

"Don't go getting yaselves killed!" Bernie shouted over to them when they were far away from each other. Cloude and Aris just waved and soon they were out of sight from each other.

"I hope you don't mind that we elected you as leader" Aris said to Cloude as he materialized his staff out of nowhere and into his hand.

"No I don't mind" Cloude replied a little shyly, "But if you want any mission done, Bernie would be the better-"

"Bernie is good" Aris cut over, "But you're better. I feel safer knowing that we have an Ex-SOLDIER as leader, you know? Bernie didn't save me from the Turks"

"She helped" Cloude said, "She was the one that opened that glass container that you were in"

"I wasn't talking about in Shinra" Aris said as the ground went uphill, "I was talking about when we first met, back at the church when Rena came to get me"

"Oh" Cloude said, "That . . . But if those barrels I threw weren't there, they _would_ have caught you"

"Stop being so modest" Aris said a little breathlessly, "What happened to that self-confident, cocky girl I first met, huh?"

Cloude sighed then smiled, "I have seemed a bit down haven't I? I guess the idea of Sephira still being out there has shook me more than I thought"

"What . . ." Aris began, scratching the back of his head, "What is the story between you and Sephira?"

Cloude blinked and turned away, her eyes glued to the flame of Reds tail, Red seeming to know where to go and was currently in the lead. Aris watched the girl for a while before facing ahead and mumbling, "Sorry I asked"

"Heads up" Red growled, stopping in her tracks, "Something is coming at us . . . fast"

Cloude retrieved her sword and both she and Aris stood either side of Red as two, purple dog like creatures came into sight. They were similar to the red ones that Cloude and Bernie faced during their first mission, but these were purple in colour and looked more ferocious. One growled viciously as the other one snapped its tail from side to side. Red crouched low to the ground, snarling, tail high in the air.

Suddenly one pounced, its teeth bared and claws outstretched, but in mid-air, Red had leaped forwards and crashed into it before it had dropped to the ground. Both creatures fought with each other, eyes only for the other as they scratched at each other's skin and bit at certain body parts. Aris was about to step forwards to help but was stopped when the other beast charged at him, black eyes filled with hunger. He held his staff high in the air and slammed it across the beasts head as it when to lunge at him. The animal was thrown backwards, skidding across the barren wasteland. It got to its feet and glared at Aris who was ready to strike again. But before the animal could move, a curved beam slammed into it, causing it to black out. Then a smaller beam raced towards the red and purple blur only a few feet away. The beam slammed into the middle of them and Red and the other animal were separated, Red weakened and the other unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Aris fretted, running over to the wounded lion like creature.

Red nodded, "Stronger than I thought" she muttered. Then without warning, her legs gave way and she collapsed to the floor, wincing as she fell.

"I'm ok" Red said as she shakily got back up, "I've had worst"

"Here" Aris said, twirling his staff, "Let me help you"

Once the blue sparkles disappeared along with Reds scratches and bites, she healthily got up, said her thanks and led the group forwards again, quickly before the purple animals woke up.

Luckily, they did not meet any other enemy as the town they were heading for came into sight. Joyfully, they ran over to the town, through the entrance gate and onto the cobbled blue pavement.

"This is Kalm" Red announced as they took in the sight. Beige and brown houses were lined either side of them, circling in the middle where shops and stalls were held. The blue roofs of the houses were bigger than the house and out of some of them, there were high chimneys, smoking away quite happily. As they delved further into the sleepy town, two people ran towards them from the other end of the street, one holding their arm painfully.

"Trey" Cloude cried, running over to the man who held his bleeding arm closely to his chest, "What happened?"

"Attacked" Trey mumbled, "by something purple and dog like. I've tried a Potion on the wound but it's not healing. It might have had something venomous in its teeth"

Bernie looked as Aris and said, "Could you . . ?"

"I could" Aris said, "But I already used my staffs limit on Red earlier on. We'll have to wait until it's charged up again"

"No worries" Trey winced, "Once I bandage it up, I'll be as good as new"

"Let's go inside" Bernie said, "We'll take rest in that Inn over there. We have enough Gil to rent a big room for the night"

They went over to a tall roofed building that had a wooden plaque saying '_Travellers Inn_' above the door. If they couldn't use it then who could?

Inside was warm and cosy, the floor wooden and the walls pale brown. A man stood at the desk and beamed as they went inside and over to him.

"Good evening" he said politely, "Welcome to Travellers Inn. For one room per person for the night will be twenty Gil each"

"How much for a room that will hold five for the night?" Aris asked.

The man though about it for a moment, "Still twenty Gil per person but I'll give you a discount offer of eighty, how about that?"

"We'll take it" Bernie replied, slamming the money on the counter. The man looked up startled and said, "We . . . we can't allow weapons in here sirs and madams"

Bernie raised an eyebrow and showed the man her gunarm; "Want to try and take this off me?" she said with a hint of a smirk, "Like to see you try. I haven't been able to take it off since it was grafted on years ago. But here, have a go if you think you can"

The man gaped and then said in a weedy voice, "Here is your key to your room. Have . . . have a nice stay"

"Pleasure doing business" Bernie beamed as they went up the stairs behind the desk and found their room.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"So let's hear it" Bernie said as they all chose a bed and sat on them, Red deciding to lay on the hard wooden floor, talking about not wanting or needing a human bed. Cloude looked up from here she was shoving her pillow into its case and stared at the tall black woman who had spoken.

"Hear what?" she asked.

"Your story" Bernie added, "You know, the one with Sephira and the whole Planet in crisis thing. I wanna hear it all"

"There's not much to tell" Cloude grunted, turning back to the head of the bed and putting the pillow down with a bit more force than necessary.

"Not much to tell?" Bernie sneered, "When we had hold of that bastard Palmer, you seemed adamant to get as much info about Sephira out of him as you could. You have a history with Sephira, and since we're helping you along with your journey, the least you could do is humour us with the story of you two"

"I don't want to talk about it" Cloude mumbled, kicking off her boots.

"I asked the same thing" Aris said, "Didn't want to tell me. It seems that Cloude here is trying to hide something"

"I'm not hiding anything" Cloude growled, taking off the pauldron that was on her left shoulder.

"If you're not hiding anything" Aris said, lying on his bed on his stomach, keeping his head up with his arms, "Where's the harm in telling us?"

"Exactly" Bernie said, "We wanna hear it"

"If she doesn't want to tell, don't pester her" Trey said dully, who was looking out of the window.

"No" Cloude said, "I suppose it won't hurt, we are in this all together aren't we?"

Trey looked around, a little bit of hurt in his eyes and then he went over to his bed and sat on the edge of it, ready to listen. Aris sat up and Bernie remained standing, waiting for the blonde to speak. Red however, closed her eyes, ready to go to sleep, seemingly not bothered about anyone's past.

Cloude sighed and sat crossed legged on the bed, staring at her hands that were on her lap, "I used to want to be like Sephira" she said lowly, "So I joined SOLDIER. After working together during several missions, we became friends"

Bernie snorted, "You call that a friend?"

"Yeah, well . . ." Cloude muttered, "She's older than me and hardly ever talked about herself. I guess you'd call her a war buddy or something . . . we trusted each other . . . until one day"

"One day?" Aris spluttered.

"After the war it was SOLDIERS job to put down any resistance against Shinra" Cloude continued, still gazing down at her hands, "That was five years ago and I was sixteen".


	25. Chapter TwentyFour

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

_Tyres crunched over gravel and grass, the truck jostling from side to side whenever it hit a pothole or had to go over a bump. Hard rain lashed down from the clouds, hitting all sides of the vehicle as it made its journey. Inside the back of the truck sat four people, two in blue military clothes, one a young blonde in blue and another woman in all black. Her hair was long and silver, the most of it cascading over her shoulders and over her bosom, the rest of it tied back loosely into a plait, flicking at the side. She wore thigh length black boots, the heels as long as an elder child's palm and as thin as a pencil. A short, same coloured skirt hugged her rear and the top of her legs, kept on her slim waist by a thick belt. She wore a shirt that exposed her midriff but stretched over her breasts, showing off part of her cleavage. To add to the attire, she had on a long black jacket that was covered in loose belts, had no pockets and travelled down to her knees where it seemed to billow without the aid of wind. _

_All but the young blonde were sat on crates that were placed in the back of the truck. The young teenager went over to the back window and looked about enthusiastically, but unable to see anything._

"_Sure is raining hard" Cloude muttered, wondering whereabouts they were. _

_She turned around and eyed the three over occupants of the back of the truck, one blue clad guard was sat at the back, reading a comic or something, his or her helmet still on, the other sat nearest, head hung low and Sephira, the silver haired warrior sat with her back leant against the wall, eyes shut and arms crossed, but she was not asleep, probably just thinking. Needing someone to talk to, Cloude went over to the guard with their head almost touching their knees._

"_Hey" she said, "You ok?"_

_The guard looked up, Cloude unable to see their face as their helmet was also on._

"_I- I'm ok" came the timid female reply._

_Cloude smiled comfortingly, "Motion sickness? I wouldn't know how it feels coz I've never had it" she turned her head to the other guard and asked, "You alright?" and got a curt nod in reply._

_Cloude went back over to the rain struck window and tried in vain to get something into sight._

"_Hey" came a cool voice from behind her. She turned and saw that Sephira was watching her with brilliantly coloured green eyes, "Settle down" she said calmly, closing those beautiful eyes again._

_Cloude laughed warmly and began performing her favourite act whenever she was inpatient – squats, "They gave me some new Materia" she said, "I can't wait to use it"_

_A small smile wormed its way onto Sephira's lips, "Just like a kid" she commented softly. _

_Cloude stopped in her motion, slowly standing up straight, a little put out by Sephira's kid comment. "So" she said, trying to sound older and wiser than she was, "Are you going to brief us on this mission?"_

_Sephira opened one eye to gaze at the blonde, "This isn't a typical mission" she replied._

"_Good" Cloude beamed, folding her arms behind her head and gazing quickly around._

_Both green eyes were open now, "Why do you say that?"_

_Cloude looked down, hoping what she would say next did not sound dumb or childish, "I joined SOLDIER so I could be like you. But by the time I got to First Class, the war was over. My big hopes of becoming a hero like you ended with the war" she looked up and almost glared determinly into the others eyes, blue into green, "That's why I always sign up whenever there's a big mission. I want to prove myself" she cocked her head to the side when the other made no comment, "Say, how do __**you **__feel, MISS Sephira?"_

_Sephira arched a thin brow, "I thought you wanted a briefing?"_

_Cloude scratched the back of her head and sat down on the nearest crate to the older woman, leaning forwards in interest, ears ready and waiting._

_Sephira shuffled in her seat to get more comfortable, crossed one slim, high heeled leg over the other and began talking in a cool and smooth voice, "Our mission is to investigate an old Mako reactor. There have been reports that it has been malfunctioning lately and has been producing brutal creatures. First, we'll dispose of all of these creatures then, we'll find and neutralise the problem"_

"_Brutal creatures?" Cloude whispered, cupping her chin in thought. She tapped her foot and said normally, "Where?"_

"_The Mako reactor in Nibelheim" Sephira answered._

"_Nibelheim?" Cloude replied, "That's where I'm from"_

"_Hmm" Sephira uttered, "Hometown"_

_Suddenly, there was a loud bang and the truck lurched, almost sending them to the floor. All but Sephira looked around wildly, hoping to find the cause. _

"_Madam Sephira" called the driver of the vehicle, "Something strange had just crashed into us"_

_Sephira gracefully got to her feet, even if she didn't have her high heels, she would still be taller than the rest, Cloude only coming to her shoulder. "That would be our monster" she said, no note of panic in her voice. In fact, she seemed a little bored, like anything outside was no task or challenge. She picked up her sword, a long and thin katana which was curved at the end. It was almost as long as Cloude and she watched in awe as Sephira walked over to the back doors of the truck and jumped outside, wet mud splashing up her heels, rain hitting her head and shoulders. Happy about something to do, Cloude told the two curious and slightly nervous guards to stay inside and reached behind her back for her sword and followed the silver haired woman outside._

_She was drenched to the skin from the rain almost instantly, a fork of lightning shadowing the large bulk of the creature that had come to face them. Ahead of them was a large dragon like creature, green, yellow and purple in colour, the rain bouncing off its scaled body, its large wings covering it, used like an umbrella to protect itself from the rain. _

_Sephira was gazing up at the beast with a lot of contempt, looking rather put out over how simple their opponent was. With a bored little sign, she raced forwards and swung her long sword masterfully at the beast, cutting through the green scales like it was soft butter. _

_Growing, the beast turned its large head and pin pointed its black eyes at its attacker, black smoke billowing out of its nostrils. It opened its long toothed mouth wide and let out a flame thrower of red, burning hot fire that surrounded Sephira and hid her from view. Cloude cried the elder's name out of shock and fear, scared for her safety. But as the dragon stopped its attack and the flames disappeared, Sephira stood still, unharmed, the remains of some sort of force field shield dissolving at the same time as the yellow embers. _

_Wanting to exact revenge for her hero, Cloude bounced forwards and attacked with her own sword, adding just a long thin scrape to the beast's skin, no damage whatsoever added. Not even realising it had been struck; the dragon did not move its head towards the blonde, its eyes still focused on Sephira who took it upon herself to finish it off with another long blow from her sword, leaving the dragon dead on the ground, its blood mingling with the mud and rain._

Cloude finally looked up from her hands and glanced around at everyone. Bernie and Aris with their mouths open, Trey showing a mixture of contrasting emotions and Red seemingly asleep.

"Sephira's strength is unreal" Cloude said, "She is far stronger than anyone could think or from whatever you may have heard or read about her"

"So" Aris said slowly, recovering quicker than Bernie, now sitting up on his bed rather than lounging on his front, "Where do you come in?"

"Me?" Cloude muttered, unable to meets the man's eyes, "I was mesmerized by the way she fought. Anyway, we soon reached Nibleheim" . . .

_The rain had gone, the sun had found strength to fight its way in front of the clouds and had absorbed pretty much all of the rain that had lay on the ground. The foursome of two women and two guards approached the entrance of a small little village that was currently empty. Sephira approached first, Cloude next flanked by the guards. _

_Not fully turning around but just tilting her head, Sephira asked, "How does it feel? It's your first time coming back after a long time isn't it? So how does it feel? I wouldn't know as I have no hometown"_

"_Oh?" Cloude said as Sephira turned her head forwards again, "What about your parents?"_

_Sephira scoffed, "My mother's name is Jenova, she died right after she gave birth to me. My father . . ." she laughed coldly, pressing a palm to her forehead and running it down her chuckling face, "What does it matter?" she said, shaking her head, "Let's go"_

_Without a backwards glance, she began walking ahead, the other three following her into the quiet village where even birds could not be heard. _

"Yo, wait a sec! Isn't that erm . . . the name of Sephira's mother?"

Cloude looked around at Bernie how seemed a little angry and sickened.

"I remember Jenova" Bernie continued, "It's that headless spook that was living in the Shinra building"

"That's right" Cloude said.

"Bernie" Trey grunted, speaking for the first time since Cloude began her story, "Let Cloude finish talking. You can ask questions later"

"Trey" Bernie said, rounding slowly to the younger male of the group, "I was only . . ."

"Continue" Trey said, blanking Bernie and directing his word to Cloude.

Aris clapped his hands together and beamed, "It's the reunion of childhood pals" he said.

"I was surprised with Trey" Cloude said. "The town was quiet, everyone must have been staying inside, scared to come out because of the monsters . . . no, maybe they were afraid of us" . . .

_Sephira and Cloude faced each other, standing in front of the inn that travellers usually used when passing. The glare from the sun was blinding, hitting them with full force._

"_We leave for the reactor at dawn" Sephira said, "Make sure you get to sleep early" she turned to the guards, "All I need is one look out, so get some rest"_

_One of the guards walked over and stood next to the blonde._

"_You may go and visit family and friends if you want" Sephira told the blonde before walking over to the inn door and entering. _

"Cloude?" Trey asked silently, "Did you go into my house?"

"Yeah, I thought you might have been home but no one was in. I erm . . . let myself in, sorry. I was waiting for either you or your dad to come home . . . but I, erm . . . got a bit impatient so I . . ."

"You . . . you _went into my room?!_"

"Y-yeah, but don't worry! I didn't snoop around or anything. I just played on the piano that you had. I just pressed a few keys in no order then left – don't look at me like that. I said I'm sorry and that I didn't look around. I left straight after! I went to see my mum but since that's irrelevant to the story I'll just skip-"

"No" Bernie interrupted, "I wanna hear"

"Me too" Aris added. "I wanna hear about your family"

"I wouldn't call it a family" Cloude sighed, "My father died when I was very young. So it was just me and mum, and she was left alone when I joined SOLDIER. But yeah, I saw her. She was a vibrant woman, hadn't changed much at all since I last saw her. But . . . a few days later she died"

"_Uh?" Cloude uttered as she entered through the door of her childhood home, the only occupant turning around at the noise. Mrs Strife smiled uncertainly and walked over to the younger blonde._

"_Yes?" she said slowly. As she got closer, her eyes widened in realisation, "Cloude!?"_

_She looked her daughter up and down, mentally critiquing her health. "Welcome home" she said finally._

"_Hi" Cloude replied nervously. _

"_Let me take a look at you" Mrs Strife beamed, walking over and playing with her daughters long hair, "You've grown it since I last saw you. It was just to your shoulders when you left now it's longer . . . hhmm, but not by much I see". She walked slowly around the young girl, making her feel a little self-conscious._

"_You've grown so beautiful" she said, standing in front of her only child. "So, this is the SOLDIER uniform?"_

"_Mum I . . ." Cloude said, walking over to the bed and flopping down onto it, a little blush on her cheeks._

"_My, how you've grown" her mother said, then continued talking about how she needed an older boyfriend to look after her, how she should settle down. Cloude just told her mother that she was not interested and that ended the conversation. _

"_Are you eating alright?" Mrs Strife asked once the topic had been changed._

"_Yeah" Cloude nodded, sitting up, "The Company is looking after me just fine"_

"_Is that so?" her mother said, "You can't cook, right? I was worried sick about you, about how you were doing . . ."_

_Flashes of other conversations continued, "Cloude . . ." "-isn't that right, Cloude?" "Remember I'll always be your mother sweetie" "You have to leave already?" "Ok, I love you dear"._

"Let's just stop this" Cloude muttered darkly, "I saw my mother and went to the inn that Sephira and the others were" . . .


	26. Chapter TwentyFive

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

_Cloude found Sephira in her room, staring out of the window and over at the snow covered mountains that circled the little village. She didn't even seem to realise she had company until Cloude spoke. _

"_What are you looking at?"_

_Sephira sighed, "Just the scenery" she said, turning to face the blonde slowly ". . . I feel like I know this place" another sigh, "Just make sure you get enough sleep, we'll be leaving early in the morning" she turned back to the window, "I hired a guide to the reactor. He's young I've heard, I hope we can rely on him"_

_The next morning, Cloude was the last to awake. Struggling into her uniform, she raced to the meeting point to find that Sephira and the other guards were already waiting for her. As she arrived, she was also joined by someone that had a large black camera swinging from his neck._

"_Is it ok if I take a picture before you all leave?" he asked nervously._

_Ignoring the man, Sephira turned to Cloude, "The guide should be here soon. As soon as he has arrived, we'll be heading off"_

"_Listen to me" said a man that Cloude only just noticed was there, vaguely remembering him. "If something happens-"_

"_Trust me" Sephira said calmly, "We're SOLDIER, your son is safe with us"_

"_It'll be alright dad" chuckled a voice and they all turned to the person who had just arrived. He was about fifteen years old and wearing some kind of cowboy attire that strangely looked good on him. His hair was soot black and was a little long, ending at the nape of his neck in a twin flick. "SOLDIER will look after me just fine"_

_He turned, beaming to the group, "Hey, I'm Trey. Nice to meet you all"_

"_Trey!?" Cloude asked, shocked, "Y-you're our guide?"_

"_That's right" Trey replied warmly, turning to the blonde, "I just happen to be the number one guide around here"_

_Cloude shook her head, "No it's too dangerous. I can't have you involved in something like this"_

_Weary, Sephira began walking towards the tight entrance of the mountains, "There'll be no problems if you protect him" she said, "Let's go"_

"_Hey!" the photographer called, "Please could I take a photograph as a memento? Just one! Please?"_

"_Fine" Sephira growled, pushing Cloude forwards so that she didn't have to be alone._

_Pleased, the photographer pushed Trey to Sephira's other side and stood back to get all three of them in, Nibelheim manor standing proudly behind them._

"_Cheeeese" the photographer called, a blinding flash telling them that the photo had been taken. And almost straight away, Sephira moved away, heading back towards the entrance of the mountains, cursing under her breath. _

"_Thank you" the young photographer said, "I'll send you all a copy once they get developed"_

_A Mako reactor was built in mount Nibel. The cold air of it was no different. It was a grey maze of bridges, pavements and tight corners. At its highest peak, it was covered in thick snow but at the base it was dry and cold. As they came to the first bridge, it was when they first hit creatures._

_They were faced with three plane like animals, purple in colour, their wings long and straight like bat wings, their faces hooked and crow like. As soon as they came into view, one immediately attacked the blonde, who was unable to defend herself. These beasts were strong so after it attacked, Cloude was left weak, eventually falling unconscious as another attacked her straight away. _

_The third attacked Sephira, causing no damage at all, just like the dragon they had faced when arriving. Impatient, she fired up an Ice Materia, but this one was stronger than usual, blue gusts of wind circling the creatures where large, sharp shards of ice seemingly appeared out of nowhere and penetrated the bodies of the three animals, killing them instantly. _

_After using a Phoenix Down on Cloude and checking if there were any other injuries, they set off over the bridge again. They ran across it, Sephira in the lead. The bridge creaked and swung as they travelled. Suddenly, Trey stopped moving, forcing Cloude to bump into him._

"_What is it?" Cloude asked._

_Trey, worried, looked over the edge of the bridge and let out one last little noise as the ropes holding the bridge from one side to the other snapped. Sephira managed to stay hanging as they hung at the side of the cliff wall, Cloude grabbing Trey's hand and holding the rope with the other. Suddenly, the other side of the ropes groaned and gave way and they all plummeted down. _

_They didn't know how long they were out for, but when Cloude regained consciousness, they were somewhere they didn't need to be, far from where they were going. As Cloude shakily got up, she noticed Trey lay not too far away, also slowly sitting up._

"_You ok?" Cloude asked, crawling over to him._

_Trey only nodded as he got to his feet, two pairs of footsteps echoing not far from where they fell. Then around the corner, Sephira and one of the guards appeared, Sephira not even scathed but the guard a little shook up. _

"_It seems we're all ok" Sephira commented, eyeing them for any injuries. She turned to Trey, "Can we get back to where we were?"_

"_The caves are all intertwined, just like an ant hill" Trey replied as Sephira went over to Cloude to inspect her more carefully. Cloude managed to brush her off with an 'ok' before Trey said in a worried tone, "Erm, Miss Sephira, we seem to be missing someone"_

_The silver haired warrior looked around unconcerned, "This may sound cold and heartless but we have no time to go looking for him. We must carry on, we can't back down. Can you navigate us through these caves?"_

_Trey nodded, "I think so"_

"_Good, then lead the way"_

_Trey leading the way as he was told to do, they travelled up hill, the two SOLDIERS taking care of any beasts they came across. The further they got inside the caves, the more peculiar they became. The walls to begin with were grey but now as they delved deeper, the walls started taking on a bright green tinge. When asked about the colour, Sephira put it down to the Mako energy that was surging from the reactor. Satisfied with this answer, the foursome continued until they came to a clearing inside the cave where the narrow walls spread out into an oval shape, light coming from the sky that they could see from a hole in the top of the clearing. Something was right in the middle of this clearing, something bright and green, like the walls they had just came from. They walked between two dead tree trunks and went over to the mysterious glowing object._

"_What is it?" Cloude asked._

"_A Mako fountain" Sephira answered, "A natural miracle"_

"_I love the colour" Trey smiled, fearlessly walking towards the fountain, "Come on, it can't hurt us right?"_

_The two SOLDIERS and guard followed the boy until they were circled around the fountain. It looked like a clawed hand made out of wood, like a small tree holding up a glowing green orb. It shone upwards, the light bouncing off their bodies. It was made even more beautiful by the natural light coming from the roof, bouncing off the orb._

"_If the reactor continues sucking up all the Mako" Trey said sadly, "This will dry up"_

"_Materia" Sephira said, "When you condense Mako you get Materia. It's very rare to see Materia in its natural state. The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in Materia. Anyone with this knowledge can use the power of the Land and Planet, calling up magic . . . or so they say"_

"_Oh so is that why when we use Materia we can use magic?" Cloude asked._

_Sephira chuckled, "You're in SOLDIER and you didn't know that?"_

"_Magic" Cloude mumbled, "A mysterious power"_

_Sephira laughed as Trey hung his head, rather a little bored. Cloude looked around concerned, "Did I say something funny?"_

"_A woman once told me never to use _unscientific term_ as mysterious power" Sephira replied, "It shouldn't even be called 'magic'"_

"_Who was that?" Cloude asked as Trey looked up, still gazing into the green orb. _

"_Hojo of Shinra" Sephira replied, "An inexperienced woman assigned to take the work of a great scientist. A walking mass of complexities"_

"_So this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is" Trey said, hoping to be included into the conversation he was getting confused by. When no one replied, he gave a little annoyed huff and said, "Come on then" he said irritably, "Do you want to get to the reactor or not?"_

_Sephira chucked, "Yes, we seem to have been side tracked. Continue your job"_

_Once out of the cave and on the outside of the mountain, they continued down a set path that circled around the mountain, eventually leading them to their destined spot of the Mako reactor. _

"_Well here it is" Trey said, standing at the base of the long steps leading up to the reactor that stood tall in the wall, pipes leading in and out of it._

_Cloude walked up a couple of steps then turned back to Trey who was about to follow, "No, you stay here"_

_Trey gaped angrily, "I wanna come too. I want to see inside!"_

_Sephira pushed past the pair, talking as she went up the steps, "Only authorised persons can go inside. The place is swarming around with industrial secrets"_

"_But" Trey complained._

_Sighing, Sephira turned to the lone guard, "Make sure he doesn't get inside"_

_The guard nodded and stepped forwards and grabbed hold of Trey's arm as he tried to follow the two women up the steps. He groaned but stepped back, stamping his foot irritably, ripping himself from the guards hold and standing far away from them in a huff._

_Sephira and Cloude continued up the steps and entered the reactor. They had to travel across some pipes to get to a beam that led to another doorway. It was a room that was coloured in vibrant red, steps leading upwards to yet another door, but they did not go through it. On each side of the steps stood rows of human sized, egg shaped pods, each with a little circular shaped window on the front. _

_Cloude looked up and saw that Sephira had stopped in front of the other door. Cloude joined her and read the singular word that was written above the door. _

"_Jenova" Cloude read. She turned to Sephira who did not speak, "The lock won't open right?"_

_Still not speaking, Sephira slowly walked down the red steps, Cloude following cautiously. Cloude stopped halfway up the steps as Sephira went and stood in front of one of the pods._

"_This is the reason for the malfunction" Sephira muttered, "This part is broken" she looked up, "Close the valve"_

_She went over to another pod as Cloude did as instructed and turned the valve so that it was no longer open, the humming that had surrounded the room as soon as they went inside dimmed once the valve had been tightened. _

"_Why did it break?" Sephira whispered, more to herself than the blonde that went to stand in front of her._

_She stretched up and gazed in to the window of the pod in front of her. Her eyes tight shut as she stepped away from it. She pressed a palm to her face, her shoulders shaking as she took in a heavy breath. Cloude was about to speak but Sephira got there first._

"_Now I see, Hojo" she whispered, "But even this will not put you onto the same level as Professor Gast"_

_She growled lowly and removed her hand to look at Cloude, her eyes bright but not from tears, but some kind of new emotion. "This system condenses and freezes Mako energy" she told the blonde, "That is . . . when it's working properly. Now, what does that Mako energy become when it's further condensed?"_

_Cloude blinked, remembering what Sephira hold said not long ago, "Materia" she said, "You told me that"_

"_Normally" Sephira sighed, "But Hojo has something else in mind" she stepped away from the pod and added, "Take a look inside"_

_Curious and slightly nervous, Cloude lifted herself on her toes so that she was able to reach the window and get a good look. What faced her was a horrific face; one that was shaped like a human's but was something totally different. Its lipless mouth was filled with teeth, set in a permanent sinister grin. What looked like spiked hair was solid and sticking up from the top of its head. Cloude yelped and jumped back, landing harshly onto the floor on her backside, glaring up at the pod with horror._

"_What is it?!" she gulped._

"_Normal humans that are SOLDIER are showered with Mako" Sephira said, "Different from others but still human. These are creatures that have also been showered with Mako, far much than you"_

_Cloude slowly got to her feet, "So these are monsters?"_

"_Exactly" Sephira replied, "Hojo's despicable experiments. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy"_

"_You said normal SOLDIERS" Cloude said carefully, "So, what about you?"_

_There was a pause and then suddenly, Sephira clutched her head, her green eyes wide with terror, mouth open in a silent scream and her whole body shaking._

"_Urm" Cloude muttered, "S-Sephira?"_

"_N-no!" the other gasped out, "Was I . . ." she reached besides her and grabbed her katana, furiously hitting and slicing at the pods in front of her. Cloude jumped out of the way and watched as Sephira got more enraged. "WAS I CREATED THIS WAY TOO?!"_

"_Seph-"_

"_Am I the same as these monsters!?"_

_She stormed over to the pod with the broken valve and began hitting that one too, "You saw it!" she screamed, "All of them, were humans!"_

"_Human?" Cloude screeched, "No way!"_

_Sephira rounded on Cloude, sword still high in the air, "I have always felt, even when I was small, that I was different from the others. Special in some way. But . . ." she shook her head, "Not like this!"_

_Suddenly, Sephira turned and the pod with the broken valve that she had been hitting gave a shriek, whatever was inside was screaming. The pod began vibrating harshly, sparks surrounded the pod. Then the front of it let out a steaming squeal and the door fell away from the rest of it, water or some kind of foul smelling liquid gushed from out of it, the creature inside tumbling out, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. It flailed weakly where it lay, groaning out in pain or some sort of negative emotion. Its lower body was bright red, even more grotesque in the open. _

"Am I human? I didn't quite understand what Sephira was saying at that time. I was even more surprised by the fact that Shinra were producing monsters"

"Damn Shinra" Bernie hissed, Cloude with her eyes closed, only seeing the backs of her eye lids, "The more that I hear about them the more I hate them"

"Who would ever have thought that a Mako reactor would hold a secret like that" Trey said softly.

"It would explain the rising number of monsters recently" Red said, now revealing that she was only pretending to be asleep, more interested in the story than she let on. "We should listen carefully to what Cloude is saying"

Bernie grunted and turned back to Cloude, silently egging her on to continue. Cloude, still with her eyes shut took the prolonged silence as her queue to finish her story off.


	27. Chapter TwentySix

Fantasy Twist

_Last part of Cloude's flashback – hoorah :P_

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

"We returned to Nibelheim, Sephira refused to talk, even to me. She confined herself in the inn, shut off from everyone. Then she suddenly disappeared but we soon found her in the biggest building Nibleheim had – Shinra Mansion".

_Cloude and the lone guard ran out of the inn, heading towards the commotion that was surrounded around the gates that was the entrance of the mansion. The gates were wide open but nobody went through. _

_People turned their heads as the two arrived. Cloude went into the mansion alone, telling the guard to make sure the villagers got home. The mansion was large and grey, obviously no one had lived in it for years. The only source of light was coming from the large windows at the back of the mansion, but the thick dust and grime made the sunlight weak. She travelled up to the second floor, along the landing and into a room where the corner of the room held a secret hidden door. But it was slightly ajar, enabling her to get inside. The staircase was long, cold, brick made and circular. She had to watch her step as there was no handrail to hold onto. It took her seconds to get to the bottom and once she did, she ended up in a long tunnel, purple in colour. Skeletons of humans and animals were brushed to the side, decaying and smelt rotten. _

_She turned a few corners and came to some sort of room that must have once been a clean science lab. Although it was brightly lit from the torches attached to the wall, the room itself was rather medieval. The tables were made of chipped wood, walls of cold stone where cabinets full of jars surrounded the room. The jars were filled with liquids, solids and the occasional small mammal or lizard. Large, human sized tubes were set at the far end of the room but the person pacing in the middle of the room was what caught Cloude's eye first. Sephira had her nose in a book, not realising she had company as she read out aloud to herself. _

"_-an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a two thousand year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism – __**Jenova**__" she paused in her pacing for a split second, then continued, "X day, X month, X year, Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient. X day, X month, X year, Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako reactor approved for use". Still none the wiser that she had company, Sephira still reading, went down a wood panel corridor lined with books, a table and oil lamp at the bottom were more books were sat._

_She stopped walking, turned away from the book she was reading and glared at the roof, "My mother's name was Jenova" she whispered, "Jenova Project. Is this just a coincidence? Professor Gast! Why did you not tell me anything? Why did you have to die?"_

_Cloude walked forwards, her footsteps alerting Sephira that she was not alone. But before Cloude could open her lips, Sephira said, "Let me be"._

"She continued to read as if she was possessed by something. Not once did the light in the mansion basement go out. . ."

_Cloude had taken refuge in one of the mansions bedrooms, laying wide awake on one of the musty old beds, counting the flies and moths that were littering the ceiling. She had left Sephira alone for a long time, the woman not surfacing for food or human contact. Was she still reading? Had something else happened? Deciding to check up on her friend, Cloude travelled back down to the basement. But as she drew nearer, the sounds of hysterical laugher reached her ears. _

_She found the silver haired woman near the desk of the laboratory, books carelessly scattered around the floor. _

"_Who is it?" Sephira snarled when she heard the nearing footsteps. She looked up and found the blonde watching her curiously. "Hhmm, the traitor" she whispered._

"_Traitor?" Cloude echoed._

"_You ignorant traitor" Sephira growled, getting to her feet and walking over to a pile of books, "I'll tell you. This Planet belongs to the Cetra. They would migrate in, settle the place and then move on. At the end of their long, harsh journey they would find peace in the Promised Land. But those that disliked the journey appeared" she turned and glared at Cloude, her once beautiful eyes now filled with hate and anger, "Those who migrated built shelters and elected to live easier lives. They took what the Cetra and the Planet made and gave nothing in return . . . those are your ancestors"_

"_Sephira . . ."_

"_Disaster struck this Planet long ago" Sephira continued, "Your ancestors survived because they hid. The Planet survived by sacrificing the Cetra. After that your ancestors continued to increase. Now what's left of the Cetra are in these reports"_

"_What does that have to do with you?" Cloude asked, shocked by her friends rash behaviour._

_Sephira chucked darkly, "Don't you get it?" she said, dark humour lacing her voice, "A Cetra by the name of Jenova was found in the geological stratum two thousand years ago. The Jenova Project. It wanted to create people with the power of the Ancients . . . no, the Cetra" she paused, walking over to the blonde and standing beside her, facing the other way, "I was the one that was produced" she hissed._

"_Pr-produced?" Cloude stuttered._

"_Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project produced me" Sephira replied as she began walking away with long strides._

"_How could he?" Cloude asked, running after her._

"_Out of my way" Sephira roared, "I'm going to see mother"_

_Cloude followed Sephira, but she seemed to disappear out of sight, like she had just vanished without a trace. She ran through the tunnel and back up the steps leading to the mansion. Something did not feel right, something ominous and heavy sunk through her like a stone in a pond. She reached the front door of the mansion and what she saw made her gasp out in terror._

_The small, peaceful village of Nibleheim was on fire. All of the houses were aflame, black smoke billowing and shielding the sky. She stood horrified, watching as roofs collapsed and peoples' terrified and agonised screams filled the air. She managed to shake herself out of her fear and ran towards the village, running over to the first person she saw. The old man was Trey's old martial arts teacher, Zangan, an old man with short grey hair and a long beard of the same colour. _

"_Hey, it's you" Zangan called, "You're still sane, right? Come over here and help me"_

_It was then that she noticed that the man was holding up a barely conscious villager, blood pouring down a gash that he received on his head._

_Cloude stood in the middle of the inferno, Zangan running into a house that was crumbling, searching for any other people that may be alive. Cloude ran over to her own house where her mother was, but the fire was so intense that she couldn't get inside. The guard that had been with Trey was passed out outside the house, Cloude moved her away from harm._

_Then, a painful yelp caught her attention. She looked up and saw, past the flames Sephira herself, sword in hand stabbing a man through the chest and removed it as the man fell to the floor. _

_Sephira slowly looked up, the scene almost in slow motion. The rippling flames, the black background. She was like a demon from the pits of Hell. A small, satisfied smirk was on her lips, her green eyes full of malice, sparkling, the fire she caused mirrored in them. She was happy, happy that she had done this, murdered people, destroyed an entire village. Without a care about anyone, she gracefully turned on her heel, presented Cloude with her back as she slowly walked through the flames, engulfed by them, katana dripping fresh blood. The flames surrounded her and then she was gone._

_But Cloude knew here the other had gone. Running all the way, out of breath, she finally reached the Mako reactor, where all of this devastation had begun. Inside the reactor was Trey, kneeling in front of his dead father, katana sticking out of the dead's back. _

"_D-dad?" Trey whimpered, trying to shake his father awake, tears rolling thick and fast down his cheeks, cowboy hat thrown to the side. He suddenly looked furious, "Sephira did this to you right? She – she did this. Sephira . . . SOLDIER . . . Mako Reactors . . . Shinra . . . Everything! I HATE THEM ALL!" he punched the ground angrily, his knuckles cracking._ _Then he slowly got to his feet, pulled the weapon out of his dads body and whispered, "I'll make them all pay, father"._

_Without a backwards glance, Trey with the sword by his side ran through the doors that led to the room with the pods. _

_Inside the room, Sephira stood at the door with the words Jenova written over it. She spread her arms wide and said in a loving voice, "Mother. I am here to see you, please open the door"_

"_Sephira!" Trey screamed, standing at the base of the steps, sword held up, "How could you do that to everyone? To my father!"_

_And with a scream, he ran forwards, up the stairs with the sword held aloft. But before he was able to strike, Sephira turned around and grabbed the sword by the handle, a smirk on her face as she lifted the poor boy off his feet. Trey, eyes wide, let go of the handle but before he dropped to the floor, the sword sliced down, across his chest and down his abdomen. Mouth open, and eyes wide, he fell down the steps, hitting each and every one of them, crumpled at the bottom with his arms and legs in painful positions, a pool of blood flowing from his wound. Sephira turned around and the door opened, letting her inside. _

_Horrified, Cloude ran over to the boy who was unconscious but spoke, "You promised. You promised me that when I needed you, you would come to help me"_

_He began repeating it, the same words. Unable to help, Cloude now furious ran up the steps and through the door, intent on some sort of revenge. _

_Sephira stood as the base of a long red pipe, the pipe leading to some sort of metal angel, a pretty face, silver wings spread. _

"_Mother" Sephira said gleefully as she walked along the pipe towards the angel, "I have arrived. Let us take back this Planet together. I've thought of a great plan. Let us go find the Promised Land" she pressed herself against the silver angel, caressing the metallic face._

"_Sephira" Cloude screamed when she entered the room, "My family! My hometown! How could you do this to them?!"_

_Sephira chuckled, "Mother, they have come again. With her superior knowledge and power; mother was destined to become ruler of this Planet"_

_She raised her hands, reaching out for the sides of the angel, "But they-" she grabbed hold of it, her fingers clenching around the edges, "-Those worthless creatures . . . are stealing the Planet away from mother-" she held on tight, gazing into the angels face, "-But now I'm here with you, mother. Don't you worry"_

_Her eyes widened as she ripped the angel from where it was connected with the ground, the pipes and wires severing as they were torn apart. Once fully disconnected, Sephira threw the angel aside, looking up at a glass tube where something was being held, something not completely human. Tubes were connected to the blue body, flesh pulsating. The head was attached, silver hair protruding from beneath a metal helmet that held the name – Jenova._

_Cloude who had had enough of the despicable show, reached behind her and grabbed her Buster Blade. "What about MY sadness?" she screamed as Sephira pressed herself against the glass lovingly, "My family . . . my friends! The sadness of having my hometown taken away from me! It's the same as your sadness, Sephira!"_

_Sephira turned around, raised her arms, sword high in the air. She laughed, "My sadness?" she said coldly, "What do I have to be sad about? I am the chosen one! I have been chosen to be the one to lead this Planet!" she slashed the air violently with her sword and looked deadly serious, "I have orders to take back this Planet for the Cetra. From all of you stupid people. So what do I have to be sad about?"_

"_I trusted you" Cloude said, her voice breaking, "No" she raised her sword, ready to fight, "You're not the Sephira I know!"_

_Sephira looked down coolly, neither speaking nor moving. They just stared, at a standoff. Cold, merciless eyes staring into wet, blue ones. Sephira's lip curved into a cruel smile, one that was reserved for someone she intended to cause pain to . . ._

". . . And that's the end of my story" Cloude said, opening her eyes for the first time in twenty minutes, all faces turned to her, mouths open – except for Red. She waited for questions, assumptions, accusations, but the lot of them were silent, just staring.

Bernie swallowed a lump in her throat, "Is that all?" she said, "There isn't more?"

Cloude scratched the back of her head and said, "I can't remember anything else if I'm honest"

"What happened to Sephira?" Aris asked, now stood up.

"In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed her" Cloude replied, trying to figure it all out herself.

"Official records state that she's dead" Trey said, still sat on the bed but now turned to the wall he was facing, "I read it in a newspaper"

"Shinra own the newspaper" Aris said, looking at the younger man, "You can't trust whatever they print"

"I want to know the truth" Cloude said, "I want to know what happened then. I challenged Sephira and she didn't kill me, why?"

". . . I'm alive too" Trey said softly, still gazing at the wall like it was an interesting television program.

"A lot of this doesn't make sense" Aris said, sitting back down, "What happened to Jenova? It's in the Shinra building isn't it?"

"Shinra shipped it from Nibleheim to Midgar" Cloude answered.

"Did someone else carry it out?" Aris said, "It went missing from the building when we escaped"

"Sephira?" Trey suggested.

"Damn" Bernie growled, stamping the floor once, "None of this makes any sense. I'm going, going, going, gone. I'm leaving the thinkin' to you"

She stormed over to the door leading outside and yelled, "C'mon then!"

"No" Cloude yelped, getting to her feet.

"Cloude, what's wrong?" Bernie snapped, "You just gunna sit here while Sephira heads for the Promised Land? I'm not letting either her or Shinra get a hold of it! If they do, then we're all royally screwed! You know what I'm sayin'?"

"Oh boy" Cloude said wearily, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Fine!" Bernie growled, running out of the room and out of sight.

"Cloude?" Trey said weakly, "How, how bad was I when Sephira cut me?"

Cloude looked at her feet, not wanting to meet Trey's eyes that had turned towards her, hurt swimming in his mahogany orbs.

"I thought you were a goner" she said sadly, "I was . . . I was really upset"

"The Ancients" Aris said, "Cetra . . . Jenova . . . Sephira and I . . . does that mean . . ? I . . ."

"Come on" Trey said, getting to his feet, "We should get going. I don't think any of us will be able to sleep now. Bernie is waiting for us"

The three of them nodded, going over to the door. As they left, Red slowly got up, stretched like a dog, yawned and said sleepily, "What a fascinating story".

_Finally, end of the flashback. How did you think it went. Didn't mess up did I? Hope not._

_Keza xXx_


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

It turned out that Bernie was not waiting for them. The woman had taken it upon herself to maybe search around the village. But they soon found her after a quick search of the little village of Kalm, talking to a man who walked off when they arrived.

"That guy says he saw a woman walking around with a killer sword" Bernie said as they stopped in front of her, "Apparently going East wards"

"Then that's where we'll go" Cloude replied, "Is it ok now if we travel as a group?"

Bernie shrugged, "Whatever, you're the _leader_. I guess we follow _your _orders"

Cloude rolled her eyes.

"I heard that going east is hard to go through" Aris replied, "Only Chocobo's can get through safely"

"It's marshes in the east" Trey replied thoughtfully, "Chocobo's? There's an old Chocobo farm not far from here. We may be able to borrow some there"

"Who in the world is going to lend us five Chocobo's?" Bernie snarled.

"We maybe only need three" Aris said, "Two people can share one and then that's one left over. Chocobo's are really powerful creatures and they can carry a lot of weight on their backs"

"Fine, we'll go and see if we can get some Chocobo's" Cloude said, "Trey, you said you heard of him? Lead the way"

Trey blinked, "I" he mumbled, "I just said I've _heard_ of him, not where he lives"

Bernie groaned, "We'll find him if it's the last thing we do".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Knock! Knock!

It was two hours later, running around the wastelands after leaving Kalm. They went in the general direction of east, but with all of them not being good navigators, they had soon become lost. But soon they had arrived at a little farm that had a large pen holding the yellow, feathered creatures. They were ostrich like birds the same height of a horse, covered in small, glistening yellow feathers. All but Cloude and Bernie stayed outside to coo over the animals, but the two women went over to the owner's door, wanting to get down to business.

The door was answered by a short old man who looked up at them through wise grey eyes. He patted the red cap on his head to make sure he was presentable and said kindly, "Can I help you ladies?"

"Hopefully yes" Cloude returned, "We were hoping to borrow some of your Chocobo's so that we'd be able to get across the marshes. We've heard it's pretty hard to do so without them"

"Then you heard correctly" the man smiled, "Pretty damn hard. With a Chocobo it'll probably stop you getting attacked by the Midgar Zolom – that's a serpent like creature over thirty feet tall!"

"So, can you help us?" Bernie asked.

The old man frowned slightly, "We don't usually lend them out" he replied, "Talk to my grandson, he should be in the old farmhouse"

He pointed a finger over their shoulders where a large, red topped barn was, two large brown, wooden doors facing them. Both women looked and thanked the old man, going over to the barn where one of the doors was slightly open. Inside, there were many stables that could hold horses on each side of the barn, but instead of horses, a couple of the stables held Chocobo's. Light filtered inside from small windows that were placed high up on the grey walls, the floor was made of concrete and was covered in stray bits of golden straw. At the end of the barn, they saw a young man using a pitch fork to shovel some dirtied straw into a bottle green wheel barrow. He looked up as the two women approached.

"Can I help you?" he asked, brown eyes wide, mouth in a little confused smile.

"Yeah" Bernie said, "We need Chocobo's"

The young man cocked his head to the side, "You do?" he said, "Well, I'm afraid you're all out of luck. We're all out of Chocobo's. The ones in here are either resting from long journeys or injured and the ones outside belong to someone else"

"What?" Bernie grunted, eye twitching.

"My only guess is, if you really want one, is to go and catch one" he replied.

"And how do we do that?" Cloude replied.

"Well, first you follow the tracks that they leave, large ones. When you come across one, use Chocobo Lure so that they come over to you enough for you to grab it, but only if there are no other monsters about. You can't catch them when there are monsters near, so you'll have to take care of them before you get your Chocobo"

Cloude sighed and rubbed her temples, "What is Chocobo Lure?"

The boy smiled, "It's a special type of Materia which attracts Chocobo's"

Cloude and Bernie glanced at each other, both silently asking if the other knew where to get this certain Materia. But the boy just smiled some more and said, "If you need the Materia, my grandfather may be able to sell it to you for a reasonable price . . . he may also be able to sell you some Greens!"

"What are Greens?" Bernie asked.

"Food that lures Chocobo's close, close enough that you'll be able to grab it before it flees. Chocobo's are nervous creatures by nature, so if you spooked it, even with the other monsters gone, it may still run away from you"

"Sounds like hard work just for one Chocobo" Bernie grunted, "And we need at least three. Can't we just _borrow _some and then give you them back before the owners realise they're gone?"

The boy shook his head, "Nope. I can't lend out other peoples Chocobo's. If you really need one, you'll have to go out and catch one. Or wait until these ones heal up but that'll take a while"

"And once we catch 'em, we can get across the marshes?" Cloude said, "But, what about after we get across? Where do we keep them?"

"That's the only drawback" he replied, "If you have nowhere to keep 'em, they'll just run off, back to the wild"

"I say we just go by foot over the marshes" Bernie said, "Catching a Chocobo's seems to me like hard, expensive, long work! What's the point of doing all that if they're just gunna get set loose at the end?!"

"You heard the old man" Cloude replied, "We'd get attacked by that Zolom thing if we don't have a Chocobo"

Bernie grunted, "We don't have the Gil to spend on Chocobo Lures or Greens or whatever they were called"

"We have no choice" Cloude said, nodding to the boy and heading outside, "If we want to get across the marshes, we'll have to get a Chocobo"

"Any luck?" Aris asked once they got outside and over to the group.

"No" Bernie grumbled, "We got a lecture about how to catch 'em, but we're nowhere near to getting one"

Trey looked up from where he had been petting the bird nearest to him that was cooing, "So, if you know how to get one, let's go" he said.

"We need to buy a few things first" Cloude replied, "But the thing is, we don't have the money"

Aris's emerald eyes widened, "Maybe we'll be able to offer some sort of other deal . . . like a swap"

"We have nothing _to _swap" Bernie said, "Everything that we own, we need"

"Maybe we give them an I.O.U" Trey suggested, "We'll give them the Gil when we get it"

"May be our only choice" Cloude replied, "You lot wait here, I'll see what I can do"

She turned on her heel and went back to the little house where the old man lived and knocked on the door. It was opened and she disappeared inside of it, coming out a few moments later, clicking a Materia orb into her bangle and holding a brown bag in her hand.

"I gave him a sob story instead" Cloude informed them, "I won't go into any details but he couldn't give me enough of them once I had finished" she lifted the bag of Greens, "Think he felt really sorry for me. Asked me if he could handle my sword in return and he was happy to give me the Materia for free"

"Sob story?" Trey chuckled, "I never knew you were an actress. I bet he couldn't refuse the sad little girl act"

Cloude scoffed, "Right, since we've been told that Chocobo's are really nervous animals, maybe only three of us go, so that we're not in some big intimidating group?"

"I agree" Red replied, "Who will be staying behind?"

"I'm going!" Bernie replied, "We need muscle to be able to control them so, sorry Aris, but Trey is stronger"

Aris shrugged, "I don't mind, I'll stay here with these ones. They are rather cute"

Cloude nodded to the two chosen people, "Alright, let's go".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

After leaving Aris and Red at the farm, the three of them went back out to the wasteland and tried searching for the tell-tale tracks of Chocobo's. After ten minutes, Trey called the two women over and crouched down, pointing at something that was unmistakably a bird like foot print.

"It's big enough to be one" Cloude agreed, "Now we just follow it"

But following the foot prints was harder than expected. They were attacked by various creatures that they took down with no problem, but no Chocobo in sight. A couple of times, Cloude tried to work the Chocobo Lure, but it did nothing. Maybe it only worked when one was at a certain distance. But soon, their luck was going up, they came to a little lake and drinking from it was one of the feathered animals. The Materia glowed lightly and the bird looked up quickly and stared straight at them. Tentatively, the animal got closer, cocking its head from side to side and eventually stopping a few meters ahead of them.

"Throw it a Green" Trey whispered. Bernie, who had taken it upon herself to look after the Chocobo food, reached into the bag, grabbed the hard green object in her hand and threw it gently for the Chocobo. It eyed the food curiously before taking a nervous step forwards and gobbling it down in one go where it stood, waiting, hopeful for another.

"Another" Cloude said, "We need to get close enough to grab it"

But as Bernie reach into the bag for one more, a high pitched squawk sounded from behind them and they turned to find another Chocobo, standing and waiting, enticed by both Materia and food.

Trey reached into the bad and threw a Green to the one that was behind them as Bernie threw another at the first. Both of them got closer, close enough that they were in reaching distance, but then a loud growl made them jump and back up quite a bit.

Frowning, the trio turned to the source of the noise and found a wolf like beast stalking towards them, eyes milky white, fur grey and teeth bared.

"Shit" Bernie hissed, "This better not scare the Chocobo's away"

"They're not running" Trey whispered back, "Listen; you get rid of that thing while I make sure they don't run for it"

He grabbed the bag of Greens from Bernie and threw one at the first Chocobo, who with a shaky leg forwards, took it in its beak.

"Come on" Trey whispered, throwing a green at the other one, "It's alright; we're not going to hurt you"

Cloude and Bernie walked away from the man and birds, hoping that the sounds of the fight that they were about to have would not put their efforts to waste. The wolf growled angrily, not happy that they were about to fight rather than back down. Its eyes switched between them and the Chocobo's, deciding which would be tastier to eat. But as it was musing, a beam of light slammed into its side, knocking it over and weakening it. It got back to its feet and let out a blood curdling howl. Cloude and Bernie grit their teeth as they heard more wolves running to join the fight. Soon, three more of them arrived, all growling and spitting.

"Dammit" Bernie snarled, glancing over her shoulder and relived that the Chocobo's still hadn't ran away, "We gotta do this quickly, Cloude"

"I know, I know" Cloude replied, "I've just used up my limit, I'm going to have to get nearer to attack"

Bernie grit her teeth, raising her gunarm, hoping that if she fired bullets at the wolves, the sounds would not scare the yellow birds away. She grunted and took that risk, pelting the nearest wolf full of lead. It yelped and the force of the bullets sent it skidding across the ground where it did not get up. One down, three to go and one of them was already injured.

Cloude jumped forwards and sliced at the first one that they had encounted, its already weak body shuddering as the blade passed through its skin, it's now dead body thudding to the floor.

Instantly, the other two wolves jumped onto the blonde, biting at her flesh and scratching her skin. Bernie let out a little roar of frustration, forgetting that she needed to be as silent as possible and ran forwards and punching them both off, breaking the wolves noses with the strength of the attack.

"Thanks" Cloude gasped, getting to her feet, bites up and down her arms, a scratch along her cheek. She wiped the dripping blood away with the back of her hand and attacked again, sending another wolf to the land of the dead. Bernie snarled angrily as she terminated the last one with more bullets. They high fived each other and turned to find that Trey had both Chocobo's in his grasp, both animals struggling against his strong grip. Both women ran forwards and relived him of one. Once they had managed to calm both birds down with more Greens and Trey had used a Potion to treat Cloude's wounds, they mounted the birds, (Trey and Cloude on one and Bernie on the other), and headed back to the farm.

Aris and Red were in deep conversation as they approached. Aris clapped as they stopped in front of them.

"Well done" Aris smiled, "You were gone quite a while so we thought you had gotten lost"

"We had a hard time getting them close to us" Cloude replied as she helped Aris behind her on their Chocobo, so that she was sandwiched between both men since Trey was in control of the animal, "But as soon as they got close enough for us to grab them, these wolves arrived and got them scared. But we eventually grabbed them"

"This feels all wrong" Red said as she jumped on behind Bernie, making the Chocobo squawk, "What would grandma say?"

"Shall we then?" Trey said, turning the bird around to the direction they were heading.

Aris chucked, pointing, "Forward, march!" he yelled gleefully.

_Slow chapter but needed . . . _

_Chocobo's are awesome :3 _


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

They headed North East, towards the hills. To do so, they needed to cross the marshes. True to the belief the Chocobo's glided across with no difficulties. You would think that having three fully grown humans on its back would slow the creature down, but it moved like it had no riders, like the added weight was nothing. Honestly. The bird would have had the strength to take all five on its back easily, but they needed another as there would not have been space for them all on only one Chocobo. As they rushed across the boggy marshes, Aris let out a little yelp and tightened his arms around Cloude's waist.

"What is it?" she asked him, glancing over her shoulder.

"L-look down" Aris stuttered.

Cloude looked down, only seeing the water like, green surface of the ground. She knew that if they tried to run over it, they would get stuck and be submerged underneath within minutes. It was like the large bird was running over thick water, but this illusion had not scared Aris. It was not something on the marsh, but something underneath. Following both birds was a large, serpentine shadow, long and thick. Cloude glanced up, making sure it was not a shadow from something that was in the sky, but the sky was clear with a few fluffy clouds. So the shadow was coming from under the marsh.

However, the Chocobo's did not stop running, coming up to the mountains that loomed over the wasteland. As they got nearer, they found an entrance in the side of the mountain. With nowhere else to go, both birds thundered into the cave like entrance and after a few moments of pure darkness, they came to a bright opening. The ground was solid once more, grass and dirt under their feet instead of the bog. They were going to carry on moving, but something made them stop instantly. It was hard to miss, so tall and grotesque, it was a wonder that they hadn't smelt it first as the stench was almost overpowering. Both Chocobo's, with the insistence of their riders, got closer.

Before them was a terrible sight. A large, snake like creature, its scales on its back dark grey its underbelly yellow, the body curled around a long, thick, wooden pole. The tip of the pole could be seen, pointing at the sky, its tip as sharp as a sword. It was protruding out through the giant snake's head, blood coursing down its scaly body. Its yellow eyes were wide but blank, mouth open to show them large fangs, covered in its own blood and a long forked tongue dangling out.

As they looked up at the horrible sight, a thunder clapped in the distance. Somewhere in the world, a storm was beginning.

"Did Sephira . . . do this?" Cloude whispered as they all gaped.

"If it was her" Bernie said, rearing her Chocobo around so that they faced each other, "She's stronger than I thought"

"Almost impossible to believe" Trey whispered, tearing his gaze from the dead beast, "We should carry on. We're wasting time stood here"

"Trey's right" Aris said, his eyes clamped shut, "Lets continue on"

"When do you think it was killed?" Cloude said, "A while ago or recently?"

"Smells fresh" Red replied, sniffing the air, "I'd say a few days maximum"

"Awful" Bernie grunted.

Trey swung the Chocobo around to the other end of the clearing where another entrance leading into the mountain was set. It was small, only big enough for humans to crawl through, this is where they had to leave the Chocobo's, release them back into the wild.

"Thank you" Aris smiled, rubbing the Chocobo's beak in appreciation as Trey and Cloude followed him in getting off its back, "You did a great job"

It let out a squawk and as soon as its last rider's feet hit the ground it took off, the other one following closely, out of the first entrance and back across the marshes.

They all checked their weapons and Materia as one by one, they crawled through the little hole and into the cave, which instantly turned to the left.

"We stay as a group" Cloude said as the last person crawled inside, "We can't risk losing anyone"

Trey ran a hand across the grey-green walls and looked back at Cloude who was also staring. "Green glow" he said, "Do you think natural Mako is nearby?"

Cloude however, shook her head, "No, I think it's because of the lighting in here. If there was natural Mako here, Shinra would have already sucked it up"

Trey blinked, "Yeah" he sighed, "Stupid Shinra"

They made their way through the cave, most of it going downhill. Curiously they did not come by any monsters. Nothing seemed to jump out at them or even poke its head out to see what was going by. The cave seemed deserted of life. So they navigated through it as it was like a maze with loads of dead ends and trails that seemed to go around in circles. They didn't find anything useful either. In fact, if the place wasn't so eerily scary, the group would have been bored. But soon, something happened as they turned a corner.

"Just a second!" someone shouted at them, making them jump at the sudden, unexpected noise. They all drew their weapons and pointed them at the owner of the voice. It turned out to be Rita, the black woman that was a Turk. Her lips were set in a frown, arms stiff by her side. They couldn't see her eyes as they were once again hidden behind a pair of black shades.

"What are you doing here?" Cloude snarled.

Rita flicked at her short black hair, "Turk Business" she replied, "And it's rather difficult to describe what we do"

"Kidnapping" Cloude interrupted, "Right?"

"To put it negatively" Rita said, "You could say that. But that's not it . . . not anymore . . ."

They waited and waited, all looking at the woman who remained silent but wanting to talk, to describe what their job was, but words didn't want to pass her lips. The group of five just stood and watched, not daring to make a move, possibly seeing the Turk's reluctance to talk funny if the Turks weren't such a threat to them.

"Sir!" shouted a boyish voice from above them. They looked up to find that another blue suited person was stood on a cliff above them, looking down with a little smile on his face. Cloude recognised the man instantly. He was the blond that had been in the helicopter with Tenzin before Sector Seven was destroyed, he had been the one restraining Aris. The man's brown eyes darted to Rita and he continued talking, "I know you don't like to make speeches, so don't force yourself"

"Then Elen" Rita said, "_You_ explain"

Elen saluted then nodded, "I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elen" he said, "Thanks to you lot and what you did to Rena, we're now short of people" he then smirked, "However, because of that, I got promoted, so I thank you. In any case, our job is to find out where Sephira is headed" he flicked his shoulder length hair over his shoulder and added, "And to also try and stop you lot every step of the way since you're getting in our way and stopping us from doing our job"

They heard someone sigh and they turned to see Tenzin stood on a ledge, her arms crossed and eyes closed. "Elen" she said softly, "You talk way too much"

"Miss Tenzin!" Elen cried, standing a little straighter.

"No need to tell them our orders" Tenzin replied, opening her eyes to look between the group and Elen.

Elen hung his head, "S-sorry" he whimpered.

Tenzin, still with her arms crossed over her chest, turned to Rita, "I thought I gave you other orders?" she said. Rita nodded. "Now go" Tenzin said, "And don't forget to file your report"

"Right" Elen beamed, "We'll do just that! Rita and I will go after Sephira, who is heading for Junon Harbour!"

"Elen" Tenzin said with forced calm as Rita put her face in her palm and shook her head, "You don't seem to understand . . . do you?"

"Huh?" Elen said, genuinely confused. She looked between her superiors and then at the group that were still there. He jumped and yelled in a panicked voice, "Oh! I'm . . . I'm so sorry. I forgot they were there! I didn't mean for them to hear that!"

"Just go" Tenzin said, "Don't let Sephira get away!"

"Sir!" both Rita and Elen said, both saluting in sync with each other. Elen disappeared from sight as Rita, as cool as can be, slowly walked through the group, not even batting an eyelid. She turned slowly and looked Cloude straight in the eyes, "Rena said she wanted to see you after the injuries you gave her healed" Rita said. "She wants to show her affection to you all . . . with a new weapon"

Cloude growled, "We're not worried. Tell her we look forward to the reunion"

Rita nodded and walked down a path and was soon out of sight. Tenzin stood at the edge of the ledge she was on and looked down at them, a face full of unconcern.

"Well then" she said, looking mainly at Aris, "You have my regards"

"Huh?" Cloude said as Tenzin turned around and went out of sight, probably leaving where she had arrived.

Wordlessly, the group followed, using thick vines to get up to the ledge, Red who was unable to climb the vines just jumped onto the ledge instead. They came face to face with a doorway where yellow light was streaming inside. With nowhere else to go, they went through.

The light from the sun was blinding, finally making it outside. They all shielded their eyes from the bright onslaught, eyes not having time to adjust.

"We need to get to Junon" Bernie said as they began walking, "That's where that Turk said Sephira will be heading"

"And what direction is Junon?" Aris replied, "I've never been there"

"We need a map" Trey said as they came to a heavily forested area, "I say we go to the first village we see and get one. We should have gotten one earlier but we just didn't think"

"Split up?" Aris suggested, "Double the chance of finding somewhere?"

"No" Cloude replied, "We have no means of contacting each other. We really need phones or radios or something"

Trey growled, "We need Gil for that! We wasted most of our money on that Inn in Kalm, and we didn't even stay the night! What a waste"

"Don't worry" Aris smiled, patting Trey's shoulder, "We'll find a way"

Trey grunted and shrugged the older man's hand off of him and sped up walking, leading the group through the forest in a bad mood. Aris looked hurt at been brushed off and stopped walking and stared at the ground. Nobody noticed the man stop other than Cloude who walked back over to him.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

He looked up at the blonde and said sadly, "I don't think Trey likes me very much" he said.

"What?" Cloude said, a little surprised, "How could you say that!? You and him are like best friends you know, male bonding buddies of whatever it is. You've saved each other tons of times"

"He brushed me off so angrily" Aris said.

"He's angry about not knowing where to go" Cloude said with a small reassuring smile, "He didn't mean it intentionally. I've known Trey for the most of my life, and I know he doesn't dislike you, 'kay?"

Aris smiled and hugged the blonde who stiffened at the contact. "Thank you" he said, letting her go, "I knew you'd cheer me up"

"We can't have a team member upset, can we?" Cloude said, giving him another little smile. "Come on, let's catch up"

Aris nodded and was about to lead the way when he stopped, looking around feverously. Cloude did the same, both glancing around to see if they could find where the rest of the group went.

"Which direction did they go?" Aris asked.

"I dunno" Cloude replied, drawing her sword, "I don't like this"

"Trey!" Aris shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth, "Bernie! Red! Hello! Trey!"

"Sshh" Cloude instructed, elbowing him lightly in the ribs, "I hear something moving"

Aris dropped his hands and glanced around nervously. He was scared but knew he was safe, who wouldn't be with Cloude by their side? He materialized his staff into his hand and waited in silence, trying to pick up a sound. Leaves and grass rustled, soft footsteps coming nearer. A bird cawed from behind them and they turned to see it flying overhead. They stared at the area that the bird had flown from and heard a human giggle.

"Who's there?" Cloude demanded, turning her sword to the noise, "Show yourself!"

"Do as she says" Aris added with zero confidence.

Silence.

They heard nothing, not even any more birds. Even the faint footsteps that they had heard had stopped. Cautiously, Cloude stepped forwards, to the place where the bird had flown from. She held her hand to up indicate that Aris should stay where he was. He nodded and watched as the woman got closer and closer to a patch of bushes. She raised her sword and in one swipe, brought it down on the bush, leaves and twigs flying in all directions, but nothing else. She glanced around quickly but then suddenly, she heard two screams, one after the other and a sound of metal hitting flesh.


	30. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Cloude quickly turned around and saw Aris with his back turned to her, staff high in the air and his chest heaving. Opposite him sat a young boy, rubbing at his head where a bruise was already forming. The boy looked no older than sixteen. He had short black hair, deep brown eyes and donned an almost tribal attire. He wore clothes of brown and grey and his boots, made of thick animal hide were bright yellow. Around his head, he wore a handmade black bandana. After rubbing his head, the young boy got to his feet and Cloude saw in his hand, a large spiked shuriken.

"You big meanie!" the boy yelled at Aris, voice young and not broken, "That hurt!"

"You jumped out at me" Aris defended, "I did what came naturally!"

"Kid" Cloude frowned, addressing the newcomer "Who are you and why are you following us?"

"Kid?" the boy shrieked, "Following you!? I'm the defender of the great city of Wutai, Yuffen Kisaragi!"

"Why did you attack me?" Aris asked, staff still in the air.

"Like I said, I'm the defender of Wutai!" the boy chirped, proudly pounding his chest with a fist once.

Cloude rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Even though we're lost, even I know that we're far away from Wutai. Wutai is miles away"

"Enough talk" Yuffen yelled, getting into a battle stance, "I'll defend my home at all costs, even if it means sacrificing myself!"

"Gaia" Cloude grunted, "Listen, kid. We're on an important mission right now. We don't have time to play with you. Why don't you turn around and go home?"

"Kid, again!" Yuffen roared, "Nobody calls me kid twice and gets away with it"

With surprising speed, the young boy flung himself at the blonde who only had time to raise her sword and block his attack. Eyes wide, Cloude pushed the boy away and with a kick to the stomach made him retreat a few steps.

"Don't underestimate me" Yuffen snickered, once again getting into a fighting stance, "I may be young but I'm the best warrior Wutai ha- ooff!"

The young ninja was silenced as Aris, annoyed already ran over and smacked his staff across the boys head, causing the boy to fall back down on his backside and rub his head.

"You talk big for someone so small" Aris said, bending down so he was eye level with Yuffen, "C'mon, if _I _can make you fall to the ground then anyone can"

Yuffen glared, a trace of a smirk on his turned down lips. "That was a pathetic cheap shot that you pulled" he said, "You hit me when I was telling you how great I am"

"Drop the act, kid" Cloude replied, going over to the males and ignoring the flash of anger in the younger boys eyes at the word 'kid', "You're threatening no one"

"Oh, really?" Yuffen growled, with lightning speed throwing his shuriken at the blonde who with a simple swipe of her sword, blocked the attack and sent the weapon flying into the trees. Furious, Yuffen quickly got to his feet and ran at the woman, arms flailing and teeth grit together. Sighing, Cloude flung out her arm and caught the boy's forehead in her palm, keeping him at arm's length where his still flailing fists were unable to make contact. With a light push, the boy was thrown backwards and landed heavily on the ground facing the sky, his eyes wide and his mouth open.

"Dammit" he snapped, mainly to himself as he sat up, "I can't believe I lost to a girl!"

Cloude raised an eyebrow as Yuffen got to his feet and raised his fists like a boxer, "You spikey headed jerk! C'mon, one more time"

"Not interested" Cloude said, resting one arm on her hip as she placed her sword back onto her back.

Yuffen punched the air and said, "Thinking of running away? Stay and fight! FIGHT I say!"

Cloude and Aris shared a look, one of deep contempt. They glanced back at Yuffen who was still fighting the air around him. He then pointed a finger at the blonde and yelled happily, "Ha, you're scared of me, aren't you?"

Cloude rolled her eyes and said in a dead pan voice, "Petrified"

"Just as I thought" Yuffen said smugly, puffing his chest out, "I _am_ rather intimidating. What did you expect with _my _skills?" he saluted the pair of them and said, "When we meet again I'll wish you luck, you're gunna need it"

He then turned on his heel and went into the direction his weapon had been thrown, he got a few steps away and glanced over his shoulder. "I mean it, I'm really gonna leave"

Cloude and Aris shared another look and shrugged, waiting for the boy to leave so that they could continue looking for their group. Yuffen pouted and turned fully towards them, "You said you were on a mission! Maybe I could be of service!"

Cloude frowned, "No tha-"

"I know you want my help because I'm so good" Yuffen interrupted, "You both are so weak, you're gonna need a great fighter like me on your team. What do you say?"

Cloude began to refuse again but Aris had second thoughts, "Actually, we'd love for you to be a part of our group"

"Aris" Cloude warned.

"What?" Aris said innocently, "He could be useful" he turned back to the boy, "So Yuffen, want to join our team?"

"Oh" Yuffen said, trying to look troubled but unable to hide the fact that he was pleased, "Now you've put me on the spot. Hmm, what should I do? I do have Wutai to defend and its people . . . but if you really want me that bad, I'll come. I'll go with you"

"Fine" Cloude growled, turning away and walking off, "Just don't hold us back"

Aris smiled and ran to catch up to the blonde. Yuffen watched them then yelled, "Hey! HEY!"

When neither of the two turned around, Yuffen sighed and crossed his arms, "I don't even know your names" he looked around and smirked, waiting until the other two were out of earshot, "Just as I planned" he smiled, "All I have to do is a little of this . . . a little of that . . . nyuk, nyuk, nyuk".

He stretched his arms over his head and looked around, "Hey" he yelled again, running over, retrieving his shuriken and after the blonde and the man, "Wait for me!"

He caught up to the two and, arms behind his head asked, "So, why were you two alone in this forest?"

Something hidden in his voice made Cloude turn on the boy, "We're _lost_" she growled, "We accidently separated from the rest of our group and we don't know where we are"

"You're in a forest, duh" Yuffen huffed coolly, oblivious to the death glare he was receiving from the blonde.

"Actually" Aris said, hoping to avoid another fight, "We were looking for Junon. Do you know which direction that could be?"

"Junon?" Yuffen repeated, eyes wide, "Yeah, I know how to get there from here. Do you want me to take you there?"

"Yes" Cloude growled.

Yuffen smirked, "Only if you admit that I'm the greatest warrior here"

Cloude's eyes narrowed, "What?"

"It's a simple request" Yuffen replied, "Just say I'm the best warrior here and not only will I help you find your friends, but I'll also take you all to Junon. Go on spikey, say it"

Cloude's hands balled into fists and she resisted the urge to grab her sword and cause the boy damage, but they really were lost and without Yuffen's guidance, it could take days to get anywhere near Junon.

"Fine" she spat, "You're the best warrior here. Happy?"

"Not really" Yuffen smirked, "You didn't sound like you meant it"

The blonde sighed, "Ok, I Cloude Strife of Nibelheim confirm that Yuffen Kisawiggie-"

"Kisaragi" Yuffen growled.

"Whatever. That Yuffen Kisaragi of Wutai is the best warrior that I have ever seen . . . is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You could have been on your knees and bowed to me but yeah, I'm happy with that" Yuffie smiled. He ran forwards a few steps and on his tip toes, tried to navigate them through the forest. After a few minutes they heard shouting.

"-ris! Cloude! Aris!"

"Hey". Aris's eyes widened, "That's Bernie's voice!"

"Bernie!" Cloude called back, cupping her hands around her mouth, "Hey, we're over here"

Leaving a smug Yuffen hot on their heels, Cloude and Aris ran ahead and followed Bernie's booming voice. After dodging a few rocks and trees they found the tall black woman with Red and Trey running towards them, obviously also calling out their names from afar.

"Finally" Bernie scowled, hands on her hips, "We got to the edge of this damn forest but when we turned around, you two weren't there!"

"Yeah, sorry about that" Aris smiled, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "We got a little distracted" he glanced over his shoulder at Yuffen he was stood a few steps behind them, silently watching, no longer as confident and cocky as before.

"You found a boy?" Trey asked, his eyes raking over Yuffen, "Some sort of wild child whose been living in this forest?"

"I'm from Wutai!" Yuffen piped up, pushing past Cloude and standing in front of Trey, "My name is Yuffen Kisaragi, defender of the great nation of Wutai"

"Isn't Wutai a tourist resort now?" Bernie asked.

"Yeah" Yuffen said sadly, hanging his head, "But I'm working on making it great again!"

"Good luck with that" Cloude scoffed, folding her arms.

Trey ignored the blonde's rude words, "I'm sure you'll do fine" he smiled, "My name is Trey Lockhart, this is Bernette Wallace but we all call her Bernie and this is Red"

"Hello" Red said gruffly as Bernie just tilted her head in recognition.

Yuffie bowed respectfully then turned to Cloude, "You two can't be friends, he actually has manners and is nice. Whereas you haven't even told me your names. I only know you're called Cloude because you said it when admitting that I'm the best warrior here"

"You'll have to forgive Cloude" Trey laughed, "She's not the sociable type. But they're called Cloude Strife and Aris Gainsborough"

Yuffen automatically rubbed at his bruised head when Aris's name was mentioned.

"Alright, enough with stupid introductions" Bernie snarled, "As I said, we're close to the forest edge and Junon isn't far"

"Yuffen can direct us" Aris interrupted, "He told us he'll take us"

Yuffen puffed his chest out, "Yup. I'll take you all to Junon" he turned to Cloude and stuck his tongue out childishly, "Told you I'm the best warrior around here".

_Yuffen reminds me of Black*Star from Soul Eater . . . . _


	31. Chapter Thirty

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Thirty**

Once they had cleared the forest, Yuffen (talking forever to Trey) led the way to Junon. In truth, even if they didn't have Yuffen's directions, the town wasn't hard to miss as it had a large cannon facing the sea sticking over it. It was like a whole city was hovering over another.

"Just like Midgar" Bernie had snapped when she was told that Shinra had made a base in the town.

In the town sat a lot of warm looking houses, smoke billowing out of the chimneys. But because of the Shinra facility above, the town was showered in midnight blue darkness. Lampposts were scatted around the streets where the floor was made of broken cobbles. But, also like Midgar, it didn't look so majestic.

"What's wrong with the place?" Cloude asked, "It's so rundown"

"Shinra" Bernie scowled, "Come on, let's look around"

They split up in two groups, Cloude, Trey and Red in one team and Bernie leading the other that included her with Aris and Yuffen. The team that Cloude led went through the almost empty streets and down a fleet of steep, cracked steps, leading to the sea. They immediately hit dirty sand but the water was as blue as the water in Costa del Sol. Above them was a large platform, holding something that was not visible from below. Stood alone on the beach was a young, brown haired boy.

"Hey, Mr. Dolphin!" he yelled.

Something blue jumped in and out of the water, heading for the boy, and as the trio moved closer, the boy continued, "My name is Preston. Pres-ton. Now, you say it"

The dolphins head popped out of the clear water and it let out a squeal and two clicks. The boy grinned but then he turned quickly as he heard footsteps behind him. His doe like brown eyes widened at the odd trio then he asked, "Who are you? Are you members of Shinra?"

Trey shook his head, "No . . . so stay calm"

The boy (if he was telling the dolphin the truth, his name was Preston), frowned, "I don't believe you! Get out of here"

"Great" Cloude muttered, "More annoying kids"

"Hey" Red interrupted, taking a few steps forward and looking out at the sea, "Look at that!"

Just as they looked up, Preston was thrown into Cloude's body as the ground underneath them began shaking violently. Then, suddenly out of the water came something close to a sea monster. It had a long, aqua coloured body, white, skeletal fins and a large monstrous face, its mouth full of long, deadly looking teeth.

Preston tore himself from the blonde woman and ran to the edge of the water, "Look out Mr. Dolphin!" he screamed.

"Hey!" Trey yelled as soon as Preston began running into the water, toward the sea creature in the hopes of protecting the water mammal. But he was immediately attacked by the monster and was instantly submerged.

"Hold on!" Cloude screamed, also running into the water, closely followed by Trey, "We're coming"

The monster growled and sent a large, powerful wave at them by using its strong tail. Cloude, Trey and Preston's unmoving body were thrown back onto the beach. Wanting to help the boy but needing to fight the beast off, Cloude and Trey ran back to the water, stopping at the shore line, quickly being joined by Red who bared her teeth and growled.

"We need to finish this off quickly" Trey ordered as he tightened his gloves, "Preston needs our help"

"Shouldn't be too difficult to kill this thing" Cloude agreed, retrieving the sword from her back and holding it out in front of her. She glanced mournfully at the boy who was sprawled on his back, still unmoving, then jumped forwards and into the water and slashed at the monsters slimy, scaled chest.

It roared with anger and flicked its long tail at the blonde, hitting her directly across her chest and sending her skidding back onto sand. She quickly got to her feet and powered up her Bolt Materia, making a blue flash of lightning strike the creature and electrocute the water at the same time, the same water that she still had her feet in. Electric currents shot up her legs and she screeched and jumped back from the sudden pain.

"You alright?" Trey shouted at her as he tried and failed to use his fire Materia, the only Materia that he had that could have been any use here.

"I'm fine" Cloude growled as she stormed forward and once again slashed the sea creature's scaly body. Ruby red droplets of blood streamed down its serpentine body and eventually merged with the water, tainting it.

The monster growled and heaved its bleeding body from the water and across the sand, slashing its long spiked tail at them. They jumped over it, ducked under it and dodged and because of this, none of them were hit. Closing her eyes, Cloude fired up her Bolt Materia again and struck the beast with the lightning bolt, luckily not getting hit herself this time. The sea monster roared in pain as its blood now covered the sand. Now that it was on land, they could attack it directly a lot more easily. As it tried to slither back to the water, the trio attacked it with everything they had. Punches and kicks from Trey, bite and scratches from Red and more blows from the sword by Cloude.

Bleeding, it eventually reached the water, but as soon as it did it rolled over so that it is underbelly faced the sky and it lay floating in the water unmoving. Dead.

Without a second glance, they ran back to the unconscious boy laid by himself on the beach. His face was pale and his chest was still. Cloude dropped to her knees by the boy's right hand side and Trey sat next to his left with Red at his feet.

"This is bad" Trey moaned, "You don't think he's dead do you?"

"I . . . I . . ." Cloude stuttered, unsure on what to do or say.

"PRESTON!"

They jumped to their feet and turned to the steps that led to the beach where an old man with short grey hair and a brush like moustache came running towards them. He pushed Cloude aside and fell to his knees beside the young boy, checking his breathing and heart rate.

"Nope" he said fearfully, "He's not breathing!"

He looked up, his brown eyes swimming with emotion and pointed at Cloude and said in a hurried voice, "You, young woman, CPR now!"

Cloude's eyes widened and she took a step back, her hands held out in front of her in defence. "Mouth to mouth?" she said, horrified.

"Cloude, you have to" Trey urged, "As an older man it'll be a little weird if I did it and Red . . . well erm . . . you can guess that on your own"

"But, he's just a little kid . . . a boy"

"Hurry up" Red snapped, "The more you stall the more likely Preston is gunna . . ." she looked mournfully at the boy and couldn't finish her sentence.

"Don't you know how?" the old man asked, grabbing Cloude's arm and pulling her down so that she was knelt against his side. "I'll tell you how"

"If you know how to do it then why can't you give him mouth to mouth?" Cloude grumbled.

"I'm an old man with a chest infection" he replied, "I don't wanna get the kid ill"

"Fine" Cloude grunted, "How do I do this?"

"You take a deep breath in" the man said, "Hold it, and then breathe into him. It's not that hard. Make sure you don't breathe out to forcefully. Now go on and do it"

As instructed, Cloude took a deep breath in, filled her lungs as much as they could and held it in for a few seconds before bowing her head, opening the boy's mouth open and breathing into him. His chest inflated and then rapidly deflated. She took another lung filling breath and once again continued the action. This time, Preston's eyes opened and he began coughing up water. The old man helped him sit up as the trio of friends let out a relieved sigh.

"You did it" Trey said, smiling warmly at the blonde who smiled softly back.

"Preston" the man said, rubbing the boys back, "Are you all right?"

The boy continued to cough violently, his eyes watering and bulging from his head. Worried, the old man picked up the small boy and ran towards the steps. Shrugging at each other, the three of them followed. They followed him up the stairs and through the little town until he ran into a little house where the door slammed shut behind him. Undeterred, they went over to the little house and wondered if they should knock or not. After a few moments, the door was opened again and a kind faced old woman welcomed them in.

"I heard what happened" she said as Cloude, Trey and Red entered the cosy warm home. The floor and walls were made of dark grey stones where a large, square greeny-yellow rug took over most of the ground. Sat on the large rug was a circular wooden table with three similar looking chairs. As well as a cabinet holding crockery and a three seat sofa placed against the wall, the little room held nothing else. Sat on the sofa was Preston and the old man who had the boys head on his lap, Preston fast asleep. They turned to the old woman who had a bright smile on her face.

"You've all done so much for Preston" she said kindly.

"How is he?" Trey asked.

"He's doing fine" she answered, "You all must be very tired. You can rest here if you like"

"I am rather sleepy" Red commented.

"Yes, it has been a long day" Trey added, "I'm sure the others won't mind if we have a little nap"

"No, they won't mind" Cloude said after a little pause. "I'm sure we can rest for a little while"

"Make yourselves at home" the old woman said, "There are beds upstairs".

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"_That reminds me"_

"_**You again? Who are you?"**_

"_You'll find out soon . . . but more importantly, five years ago. . ."_

"_**Five years ago . . . Nibelheim?" **_

"_When you went to Mt Nibel . . . Trey was your guide, right?"_

"_**Yeah, I was surprised" **_

"_But where was Trey other than that?"_

"_**. . . I dunno"**_

"_It was a great chance for you two to see each other again"_

"_**You're right"**_

"_Why couldn't you see each other alone?"_

"_**I don't know, I can't remember clearly"**_

"_Why don't you try asking Trey?"_

" _**. . . Yeah"**_

"_Then get up!"_

"Hey Cloude, Cloude wake up"

\/\/\/\/\/\/

Treys handsome face was looking down at her, a smile on his lips and his eyes warm. He had his arms behind his back and he took a step backwards as the blonde sat up in the bed she had been asleep in. They were in one of the upstairs room that held two beds and a small mattress that Red had been laid on. The creature was not in the room so Cloude was alone with Trey.

"Trey" Cloude said softly, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and pulling the sheets aside and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "When Sephira and I went to Nibelheim, where were you?"

Trey scratched the back of his head and leant most of his weight on one hip, ". . . We saw each other, right?"

"The other time" Cloude added, reaching down for her boots and putting them on.

Trey cupped his chin and closed one eye in thought. "No" he said eventually, "It was five years ago, I don't remember" he opened his closed eye and let his hand drop to the side. "It doesn't matter now, something is going on outside".

Cloude got up from the bed and followed Trey outside where some sort of band music, maybe trumpets, could be heard. As Trey ran ahead, Cloude closed her eyes and sighed. This day just got better and better.


	32. Chapter Thirty-One

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Thirty-One**

The door behind her opened and something small ran into her. She opened her eyes and looked down at who had bumped into her. It was Preston, looking much better now. The boy's eyes widened a fraction then a large, genuine smile took over half of his face.

"Are you alright now?" Cloude asked, bending down so that she was at eye level with him.

Preston nodded, "Yeah, I'm ok. Thanks for helping."

They walked together and soon found the rest of the group who were gathered in the middle of the town. Passers-by walked past them without making eye contact or had their heads low; others gave them a wide berth, thinking they were wrong doers.

"I'm sorry I mistook you for one of those Shinra people." Preston said, a small blush filling his cheeks.

"That's all right, don't worry about it" Cloude replied.

"I want to give you something in return, to say thank you for saving my life and getting rid of that sea monster."

He reached into his pocket and produced a small, light blue orb that shone in the dim light. He held it out and Cloude took it in her hand and lifted it at eye level where engraved on it was the word 'Shiva'.

Yuffen ran to Cloude's side, mouth open and looked at it with wide eyes, "Materia" he yelped. "Can I have it? Please! Please! Please!"

"No" Cloude said, putting the blue shining orb into her own silver bangle, "This one requires a knowledgeable user. After all, it wasn't _you _who saved Preston's life, was it?"

"Aw, c'mon" Yuffen pined. "I've only got one and all it does it create a Chocobo with a Moogle on its back that I found."

"Took more like" Bernie growled, "We helped an old woman with her car and she gave us it as thank you and this idiot swiped it out of my hand when the woman gave it to me" then she scrunched her nose and said, rather angrily, "What's with this music? It sure sounds lively."

"I heard that they're rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra President." Preston piped up.

"Ruthie?" Bernie growled, rubbing her palm up and down her gunarm making Preston's eyes widen with both awe and fear, "I gotta pay my respects."

"It's because of Shinra why this town is under constant darkness," Preston said sadly, "Ever since they built that city above when my grandma and grandpa were little, we've been plagued in darkness and the water polluted" he raised his head and puffed out his chest, "I was raised on that story and I hate Shinra so much for it."

"Do you think Ruthie is thinking about crossing the ocean from here too?" Aris asked, looking at each and every one of them in turn. He then gasped, "Does that also mean that _Sephira_ already crossed the ocean?!"

"Wait a second" Red interrupted, sitting down on the floor and looking right into Cloude's eyes, "Didn't you finish Ruthie off at Shinra Corp building?"

Cloude shook her head sadly.

"We gotta get to the town up there" Bernie said, pointing up, "Maybe we could climb the tower?"

"No!" Preston shrieked. "There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower. It's dangerous if you go to near it," he then put a finger to his lips and hummed before clicking his fingers and saying gleefully, "But you may be able to if Mr. Dolphin helps you! Follow me!"

And as fast as he could, Preston ran past them, dodging other townspeople and went down the steps that led to the beach. Not knowing what else to say or do, the group followed him as instructed.

"High voltage tower, eh?" Trey smirked as they reached the top of the steps and paused, "That means that Cloude'll be ok"

"Yup" Aris agreed, smiling, "We should leave it to Cloude"

"We're counting on you" Red agreed.

"W-what?" Cloude stuttered, looking at Red and both of the men, "Wait a second."

Yuffen laughed and jumped in the air and did a fist pump with it, "Yeah, leave it to Miss Spikey Headed Jerk to do it, I'm not getting my butt fried because of a dolphin!" He then turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd, probably to create more chaos. Aris and Trey turned to each other and began talking, Aris looking relieved now knowing that the younger man held no resentment like he thought he did against him. Red found someplace to nap and Bernie put a reassuring hand on Cloude's shoulder.

"Don't mess this up" she growled into the blonde's ear, "Get going."

Cloude sighed; obviously no one was going to hear her out. So she nodded to Bernie and followed Preston onto the beach. The young boy was stood at the edge of the water, the sea holding no evidence that a battle had taken place only a few hours before. Cloude joined him as he turned to face her.

"Wait just a second" he smiled. He turned back to the water and held up a little silver whistle that was tied around his neck. He blew it once, the high sharp sound echoing around them. Nothing happened for a few seconds until they saw something jump out of the water and dive back in. Cloude's mouth dropped open as the dolphin once again jumped out of the water, but so high, that it almost reached one of the beams that were poking out of the town above them.

"Ain't that something" Bernie said, surprising both Preston and Cloude who jumped at the sound of her voice. She had her hand and gunarm resting on her exposed, scarred hips and she was looking out at the ocean with a small smile on her Amazonian like face. "I ain't seen a dolphin jump like that before."

"Pretty cool, huh?" Preston smirked, turning back to the water, "Whenever I blow this whistle, Mr Dolphin jumps for me."

He then reached behind his neck and took the whistle off, "Here Cloude" he smiled, holding the little silver object out for her, "This is for you."

"Your whistle?" she said, "What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Well" Preston said, "Go into the water, blow the whistle and Mr. Dolphin will jump you up to the beam. It's the only way to get up there without getting electrocuted."

"Let me get this straight. You want a dolphin to throw me up there?"

"Yeah" Preston nodded, "You can't climb the tower but Mr. Dolphin sure can get you up to that beam that is sticking out, no problem."

"Good luck" Bernie said, "If you make it, we'll follow you."

Cloude sighed, "Why do I have a feeling that I'm about to die?" she mumbled to herself as she took a few steps ahead. The dolphin swam over to her and offered her it's back so that he could take her further in. She nodded to the animal and gently grabbed hold of its dorsal fin. It carefully guided her further into the water, just under the beam so that she could grab hold of it when it jumped. She wrapped the whistle around her neck and put it into her mouth.

"Ready?" she said to the dolphin, her teeth holding onto the silver object as she spoke.

As if it understood her, Mr. Dolphin clicked once and without warning jumped into the air without the aid of the whistle. Cloude was so shocked that all she could do was cling onto the dolphins back for dear life. They hit the water with a large splash and then slowly rose to the surface. Back on the beach, Aris and Trey had joined Bernie and Preston to watch. Bernie let out a roar of laugher where Trey was telling the woman that it wasn't funny whereas Aris cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "C'mon, you can do it!"

Coughing, Cloude spoke to the dolphin again, "Ok, ok, that was good. But next time, wait for the whistle, alright?"

The dolphin clicked again, maybe out of annoyance and waited. Cloude looked up and frowned, "Maybe if you move a little to the left, I may be able to reach that beam better"

Once again making her think that it understood, Mr. Dolphin moved slightly to the left so that she could reach the beam better. Rubbing its fin in thanks she looked back at the tower where blue static was running up and down it, threatening to electrocute them both. Luckily they were out of its reach so in no immediate danger. Taking in a deep breath, Cloude held on tight and blew the whistle. The dolphin immediately jumped up, all of its power coming from its tail. As they reached the beam, Cloude threw herself from the dolphin and reached out for the beam that she just managed to get hold of. As Mr. Dolphin fell back into the water, the foursome on the beach yelled out encouragement to her. Using all of her strength she pulled herself up onto the beam and let out a grunt as she fell onto it. Shaking her hair of water, she looked back down at the dolphin who was jumping out of excitement and at the group who were cheering.

"Well done" came Bernie's voice, just barely audible from her height, "Now throw that whistle down and we'll soon follow you, don't wait up for us."

She removed the whistle from her neck and dangled it over the edge of the beam. Mr. Dolphin looked up and dived under the water and moments later jumped out. Cloude dropped the whistle and the water mammal grabbed hold of it and swam back over to the group to deliver it back to Preston. She mock saluted the rest of the group before turning around and cautiously pressing a finger against the tower, clamping her eyes shut, waiting to the electrocuted, but nothing came. Letting out a sigh of relief, she figured that the electric currents were covering the bottom half of the tower, not the top. So with that in mind, she began climbing the tower, her wet sodden clothes weighing her down a little.

Within twenty seconds, she reached the top, the sky pink and blue from the setting sun. As she stepped onto the plate, Cloude's eyes widened from what she saw. It was a large airship, hovering about fifteen metres from off the floor. It was about the same size of a normal airplane, but oddly shaped, more like a mixture of a hot air balloon and a war plane. It was silver in colour and as she moved closer, she could make out little windows that adorned the side of it. Currently, it was being tethered down by a long but thick chain. But she wasn't here to marvel at the contraption, she took an immediate left, going under the plane and towards a building that only had one door leading into it. She had to press a button so the floor lift would go down, but eventually she reached the building, entering the unguarded door and into a long thin corridor where the same music from earlier could be heard again, only this time much louder. Quickly, she had to move aside as a blue uniformed man ran past her, shouting, "Hurry! Hurry, the new President is here!" he was soon followed by two other uniformed men with guns slung over their shoulders.

She barely had time to inspect the metal walls; floor and roof when a man dressed in red stormed over to her, his black hair askew and brown eyes wide and grabbed her forearm.

"You still dressed like that!?" he screeched, looking close to a nervous breakdown. Come on!"

About to open her mouth to argue back, she was stopped when he dragged her into a changing room that was cluttered and the two seating benches unscrewed from the floor and at angles. "Today is the big day we welcome President Ruthie!" the man continued, "Hurry up and change."

Unsure what to do, she went over to one of the lockers and picked up a clean blue Shinra uniform and held it against her body, wondering if she would fit into it. After deciding that it would and the red clad guard had turned away to offer her some privacy, she put it on, not wanting to strip from her current clothes, having the feeling that if she left them here, she wouldn't have the opportunity to come back and get them.

'_Brings back memories_' she thought as she glanced down at herself before putting the helmet on, feeling her hair getting flattened, but no worries, it always reshaped itself. '_Shinra uniform, I was so proud when I first put it on_'.

The guard turned around just as she grabbed the gun and lent it against her right shoulder. He inspected her and said, "Wow, you look good in it. We don't have many females here, so don't mess this up!" He then got closer and said, "You do remember the greeting procedure, right?"

Cloude frowned, shaking her head and thinking that this was when she would be found out and caught. She needed to get closer to Ruthie to finish her off, but if she was caught, she would be facing the President behind bars and not in battle like intended.

But the guard just sighed and his body seemed to slump slightly, "The look on your face is telling me that you've forgotten" he grumbled. "Ok, I'll show you again."

He turned around so his back was to her just as two more soldiers came running in. Cloude stiffened, knowing that she had been caught, and that these two men were about to arrest her and take her away. But they just stood there, smiles on their faces and said at the same time, "Commander, we'll help too!"

"This is how you do it" the first one said, turning towards her as the other one yelled joyfully, "And we'll sing too!"

"This is a parade" the first one almost sang, "So you gotta march-"

"-And sing" the second yelped happily. He raised his gun into the air and in not so much of a good voice, sang "Quietly, aaaaahh! C'mon, sing now!"

Then both started marching and singing in perfect rhythm, "Ruthie, Ruthie Shinra" they sang as they marched on the spot, just as the Parade music from outside started again.

"Keep in step with the soldier next to you and march smoothly" the first said as the other continued singing. "And when in perfect step, shoulder your gun-"

"-We are Shinra Company. The New President, Ruthie!-"

"Remember that and you'll be fine" the Commander said.

"Ruthie has arrived!" yelled another guard who came rushing into the room, "C'mon!"

The two soldiers jumped and muttering song lyrics and marching tips under their breaths, they left the room. The Commander sighed, wiping his sweaty brow and turned to Cloude who was stood, confused and a little nervous.

"All right, show time. Don't disgrace yourself."

_My personal favourite chapter so far :P_


	33. Chapter Thirty-Two

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

Before she knew it, she was racing after the two guards and the commander down the corridors and out of the other side of the building and through an empty tunnel. They continued running where they left the tunnel and alongside a long road overlooking the sea. From here, they ran closely past the large ray gun that sat looking out over sea, the bronze surface orange from the setting suns final rays. From underneath, Cloude gasped in awe as she took in its huge size, where little blinking lights could be seen on it, warning any one flying so that they didn't hit the large gun. Why Shinra had built the gun, she didn't know why, but she knew she didn't want to be on the receiving end of it, nothing could survive a direct blow from it.

Eventually they hit the road that was the starting place for the parade, but it was empty, just the dying tune of the music from a distance.

"Empty!?" the Commander cried, looking around fearfully, "Oh, no, we're late!"

He fell to his knees and cradled his head in his hands. "I'm so fired" he looked up where one of the guards were running toward an alleyway that was cut in between two tall buildings. "Hey! It's because of you running around like that!"

"Commander" he called back, "C'mon, we'll take a short cut to the Parade."

"Yes!" he yelped, springing to his feet and turning to Cloude and the other guard, "Hurry, we can still make it."

They took it in turns to go through the long alleyway, a grey stray dog walking over to them, investigating. It looked at them with large eyes as it sat down on the curb, brought one of its hind legs up and quickly scratched itself behind its ear.

"Shoo" the Commander hissed as Cloude followed the two other men, "Don't follow us."

The dog whined but then trotted away, its tail high in the air and its tongue lolling out. At the end of the ally, the Parade was going past, the music louder than ever, the sound of marching boots the second loudest noise.

"I'll go in first" one of the guards said, "Find an opening and keep in synch with the men around you. Make sure you're not seen."

Without another word, he ran from the opening of the alley and joined in on the back of a line that was just passing, marching quickly in time and causing no suspicion. The other man waited for the other line to pass by then added himself to the end of it as it went. Only Cloude and the Commander stayed behind.

"Don't mess this up" he hissed at her, "This is being posted live around the world. If you fail you'll make the whole of the Junon army look bad! Wait for the next line of soldiers to pass and then jump in! Don't screw this up."

Rolling her eyes, Cloude began marching on the spot, hoping that she would be in time with the rest of them. She wasn't really bothered if she looked good or not, but she didn't want to stand out either, because if she did then she could be found out as a spy and not a genuine Shinra guard. The next line filtered past and she felt a push on her shoulder as she left the alleyway and joined in the line of marching soldiers. She kept up perfectly well, her own military days springing back to mind. The soldier to her right arched a brow at her, wondering where she suddenly came from but didn't question her or raise any alarm, just continued what he was doing.

She could hear the commentators in the background, screaming and shouting about something, but the music was too loud for them to be heard. All she knew that at the end of the Parade, she had a grenade shoved into her hands and told not to mess up the rest of the Parade before being shoved with a few selected soldiers and marched away to stand obediently in front of a podium where Ruthie was already stood. The blonde woman was still wearing her white suit as she waved at the soldiers that were chosen to continue marching down the streets.

Cloude fingered the grenade that she put in her pocket and thought that this would be a good time to launch it at the President, but that would make it obvious that she was a traitor and get her shot for sure. The grenades were supposed to be used for anyone trying to assassinate the President, but she was still tempted to throw it anyway.

Plus, if Ruthie was assassinated, she wouldn't be able to follow her to where Sephira was supposed to be. So with that thought in mind, she kept her mouth shut and began shouldering and un-shouldering her gun, just as the other soldiers were doing. Also on the podium with Ruthie was the large man named Heidegger, he turned to Ruthie and whispered something into her ear. She frowned and Cloude read her lips, "What happened to the airship?"

Heidegger rubbed his hands together and said something back, Cloude lip read the words "-still being prepared", but didn't catch the whole sentence. He said more things and then laughed, the only sound that could be heard over the still blaring music. He clutched his side and ignored Ruthie as she continued talking. She narrowed her blue eyes, stepped closer to the green clad man and prodded him hard in the chest. "Stop with that stupid horsey laugh!" her threat also audible over the music, "Things are different from when my father was in charge".

Heidegger stopped laughing quickly and when Ruthie asked if the airship was ready again, he replied with a curt nod.

Ruthie flipped her hair over her shoulder and entered a door and inside of an elevator. The music lowered in volume but continued playing as Heidegger turned to the selected soldiers and glared. He dispersed them and entered the lift himself, where it began going up.

"What a disaster" one guard muttered, taking his helmet off and wiping his brow before putting it back on.

"Yeah, did you see the way Heidegger looked at us?" another said, "He looked really irritated."

"The woman in the black cape has been seen roaming the city, but we can't find her."

Cloude turned to the soldier who had spoken that line, about to question him, wondering if he was talking about Sephira. "Woman in a black cape?" she asked, trying to sound innocent and not _too_ interested.

"Yeah" the man replied, "She turned up a few days ago and killed a few of our soldiers!"

The man next to him nodded, "There's a rumour going around that it's Sephira."

One of the red clothed Commanders didn't seem to like where this conversation was going, so he dispersed them where they all went in different directions. He went up to Cloude before she could move and growled, "You! Are you messing with the army?"

"Huh?" she said, "No"

He glared at her and snarled, "Too lazy, no break for you"

"I'll deal with her" the other Commander said, the one that had guided her to the Parade. He grabbed her forearm for the second time that day and dragged her back to the building and back into the changing room with the broken benches. He crossed his arms tightly and said, "This is the Military. Your orders today were to send off President Ruthie to the dock! You've been chosen specifically for this task so I'll keep drilling you until it's time"

"We'll help!" the two idiots were back, just as eager as before, but thankfully they were not singing this time. One was trembling with excitement so Cloude guessed that he was new and looking forward to such an important role so early in his career.

"All right, show me your final pose" the Commander spat out. "Today's role is formation! Ok, Junon Military send off! BEGIN!"

Cloude watched intently as the two men moved their guns around their bodies' every time the Commander blew his whistle. They raised it over their heads, across their shoulders and in front of their bodies. And when she was asked to do it too, she acted perfectly. As she turned from left to right, the Commander looked pleased. "Just don't mess up during the real thing" he warned.

"Commander! What's the special pose?" the guards asked.

The man brought a finger to his lip, tapping it and humming. After a few moments, he seemed to deflate and said in a defeated voice, "I haven't decided yet."

He turned to Cloude and blew the whistle sharply in her ear, "You! I'll let you decide!"

"Hm" Cloude muttered, playing along, "Let's see, my best move."

She raised the gun and spun it around her head quickly, making sure she didn't drop it or hit the wall. As she swung it smartly around her head, she hummed a little tune and when she finished, she placed the gun back onto her shoulder. The guards looked stunned.

"Wow!"

"That's awesome!"

"Ok" grinned the Commander, "We'll use that. Learn it well."

"Yes sir!"

"We'll meet at the dock, don't be late. You're all free to go."

The guards left rather quickly with the Commander close by on their heels. Cloude sighed and sat down on one of the benches, taking her helmet off and gulping in some fresh air.

"So far so good" she muttered to herself as she pushed stray strands of hair from out of her face. With a grunt, she put the helmet back on her head and followed them back outside, where they were already running to the dock. She figured she had more than enough time to get there so she entered a little shop for a drink since her throat was dry and itchy. As she entered, she wanted to step out again. There were only three people in the bar abut all three were members of the Turks, the blond young man named Elen and Rena, who was behind the bar with her sleeves rolled up making cocktails, showing the barman how to make a certain kind. Tenzin was sat on the edge of the bar, nursing a single small drink.

"Drinking on the job" Elen smiled, "Don't blame ya."

"Yeah, the President's safety is our priority" Rena added, "But we figured that since she's safe , we'd come in here and relax."

She added ice to the cocktail and offered it to Cloude, but since drinking it would mean taking her helmet off and revealing herself, she declined. Rena shrugged and drank it herself, "Suit yourself".

"Get out from behind the bar" Tenzin scoffed at the redhead, "If the President comes to some real danger, you're going to be in no fit state to help her"

Rena shrugged and downed another drink in one, "It'll take more than a few drinks to take me down. Anyway, I don't think those AVALANCHE idiots are here so there should be no trouble."

Hearing the name of her group said so violently out of the redhead's lips, Cloude took the opportunity to leave the bar unnoticed. As she left the shop, the same stray dog from before came over to her and sniffed her leg. Sighing, she knelt down and stroked its head, its tail flashing from side to side.

"Are you hungry?" Cloude asked, "If is sell this grenade I have, do you think I'll have enough to get us both something to eat?"

"What are you doing?"

Cloude glanced up and noticed that one of the idiotic guards was standing in front of her. She stood up straight and the dog took that opportunity to bark and run off somewhere. She watched it go and then turned back to the guard.

"Come on" he said happily, grabbing her hand, "Or we're going to be late!"

"Late for what?" Cloude asked as the cheerful guard dragged her down the street.

"Duh, the rest of our job silly" he laughed, "We're seeing the President off!"


	34. Chapter Thirty-Three

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

She had no idea where she was being dragged to but once he let go she found herself standing beside a large, grey coloured ship with the Shinra logo stamped many times to the side of it. She saw many little portholes decorating the sides and as Cloude watched, someone stuck their head out and looked down at her. She didn't know who this person was so she ignored them and followed the guard who had brought her here. He and the other guard were standing at the back of the ship, at the cargo bay holding large brown crates and other equipment. As she gaped at it, the Commander grabbed her forearm and dragged her in line, standing her along with the other two.

"Alright" he whispered to the three of them, "It's time. Ten-Huh!"

The two men stood to attention and following suit, Cloude did to. There was silence for a few moments until someone announced the Presidents appearance. "President Ruthie has now arrived!"

Cloude watched out the corner of her eye as a large metallic door parted open and in strode the white clad President, followed closely by Heidegger, even bigger in size up-close. Ruthie's cobalt blue eyes showed no enthusiasm, in fact, she looked rather bored. Heidegger on the other hand, skipped merrily behind her, his large black beard swishing from side to side.

Cloude moved her eyes back to the Commander, who now looked a little terrified. "This is it" he gasped, "Junon Military Reception! Do it right . . . do it with enthusiasm! Ready!"

He lifted his whistle to his mouth and gave a quick toot. As Ruthie and Heidegger approached, the Commander gave them instructions on how to move, blowing his whistle with every command. "Right! Left! Shoulder gun, left, right, shoulder, right again, shoulder . . . shoulder and now, forward!"

Cloude had to keep up rather quickly as the two guards' performed the moves perfectly, it was apparent that they had been training for this for weeks, perhaps months. If she hadn't of had military experience in her blood, then she would had failed and either dropped her gun or simply crumbled right there on the spot. But luckily, although she made a few small errors, she got through the whole exercise without attracting any unwanted attention. As she looked at the smiling Commander, something over his shoulder caught her attention. Behind him, inside of the ship and behind a large crate, a red furred head popped up and looked at the performance quizzically. Cloude had to quickly hide her chuckle as a small cough and forced herself not to smile.

Red seemed to be amused at the act of the three guards' performing such a task for the President. She shook her head and Cloude thought that she saw a trace of something like a smile on the beast's face, if that were possible. At least someone was amused, since Ruthie still didn't look pleased with her welcoming act.

As soon as they faced ahead, the Commander blew his whistle and shouted, "Finishing move!"

This was something that she could do perfectly, lifting the gun in one hand and twirling it around her head with ease. The other two were good, but neither of them could match the speed of which Cloude had. As they stopped with their finishing move, Ruthie now a little amused at the display, they shouldered their guns and stood to attention again. '_Hopefully Ruthie doesn't recognise that ending move_' Cloude thought. '_If she did, I'll be caught_'.

But luckily, Ruthie did not suspect a thing as she stepped forward and smiled, "Well done" she congratulated, her voice low and once again a little bored, "Keep up the good work for Shinra Incorporation."

Cloude sighed in relief as Heidegger went over to each of them and handed them each a little ball. She held her hand out and he dropped a ball of Materia into her palm with the inscription face up, HP Plus Materia. She pocketed it alongside the grenade and looked at Heidegger who said, "A token of the Presidents kindness. Don't forget it."

In appreciation, the two guards' twirled their guns around their heads again as the Commander looked upon them with a grin on his face. Cloude looked up at Red who chuckled and disappeared as Ruthie stepped forward and began to enter the ship. As she walked away, Cloude heard the Presidents next words, spoken a little too loud.

"Once the word gets out that Sephira's here, that Cloude and her friends will arrive." she groaned, placing a palm to her forehead.

"We'll crush them as soon as they show up!" Heidegger replied happily.

"We can't have them in our way" Ruthie continued as she walked inside further, Cloude having to strain her ears to hear.

"Leave it up to me" Heidegger said before beginning to laugh, his large belly rising up and down as he did. Ruthie groaned and hissed, "I thought I told you to stop with that stupid laugh?"

Heidegger continued to laugh so Ruthie just groaned, flicked her hair from out of her face and walked into the ship, disappearing from sight. The large, green clan man slowed down laughing and wiped a single tear from his small dark eyes. He turned, chuckled and dismissed them before following the President inside. Once the two main people were out of sight, everyone relaxed, the Commander blowing out his held breath in one flow and leaning down to rest his hands on his knees.

"Ah!" the guard closest to Cloude groaned, stretching his arms over his head, "I'm beat."

"That was close" the other responded, "I almost dropped my gun when we did our special ending move. I nearly died of humiliation."

"Heidegger has been real edgy recently" the first guard said.

"Why?" Cloude asked.

"Didn't you hear?" the other said, shocked, "Hojo disappeared, only leaving behind a note of resignation! Heidegger had been forced to take care of that investigation, too."

"Hey!" the Commander snapped, tooting his whistle, "You're all dismissed! Did you not hear Heidegger?"

"Yes Sir!" the two men cried in unison, running off to where the President had entered. The Commander turned to Cloude and said, "C'mon, we've got some cleaning up to do!"

She watched him leave her sight before she snuck onto the ship, checking behind the large crate to see if Red was still there. Naturally she wasn't.

'_We'll cross the ocean to the new continent_' Cloude thought as she made her way through the crates. She sighed and groaned, '_Even if we are wearing Shinra Uniforms_'.

As she walked, the back of the ship closed, leaving the room in darkness. Feeling her way around, she felt her hand touch a handle of a door, and hoping it wasn't going to lead her to some trouble, she pushed the handle down and opened the door. As she did, a whistle of the ship blew and set off, the swaying almost knocking her off her feet.

The room she entered was light but dirty, sailors running around and doing their jobs. More crates were scattered around and to her immediate left she saw large black machinery, part of the mechanics running the ship. As Cloude walked between two walls of crates a sickening sound caught her attention. She followed the sound and found a sailor leaning against a crate, his head low and a hand clamped over his mouth. As she neared, she saw that it was a green looking Yuffen. His brown eyes bloodshot and his complexion sickly.

"Urgh" he grunted as he noticed Cloude stood beside him. He was wearing a white uniform with bits of blue, black shoes and a hat with a blue band around it. "This is why I hate ships . . . or any kind of moving vehicles," he retched but thankfully didn't throw up. He turned watering eyes to her and grabbed the front of her shirt, "Cloude, please tell me you have some tranquillizers! I can't take much more of this!"

"None" Cloude frowned, "I didn't think to stock up on them"

"Urgh" Yuffen groaned, releasing her front and sliding down the side of the crate. "Can you ask someone, please?" Cloude sighed and turned around to see that a sailor was watching them. "Hey, you got any tranquilizers for this kid?"

"Kid?" Yuffen growled, glaring, but he went unnoticed as the kind sailor handed over a vial of purple liquid.

Saying her thanks, Cloude uncorked the vial and held it out to the teenaged boy. With shaking hands, he grabbed the glass tube and in one gulp, swallowed it. He pulled a face and waited for a few seconds. "Gross" he groaned, "Taste's disgusting . . . bitter"

"Any better?" Cloude asked once the boy stood up.

"A little." he looked around then asked, "Where are all the others?" he then answered his own question, "I dunno, probably hiding somewhere. How should I-" he was cut off suddenly as he turned around and vomited in the corner. With a look of disgust, Cloude gently patted his back.

"I'll go search for the others" she said.

Yuffen didn't reply as he wiped his mouth and concentrated on breathing. Cloude walked away before the smell could get to her. To her right stood a long, steel staircase, leading up to the deck. She kept her eyes on it as she went over.

"Hey, Cloude!"

She turned as someone grabbed her hand and she winced when she was that it was another Shinra Guard, dressed in the same uniform as her. The guard let go of her hand and said, "It's me, Aris"

"Aris?" Cloude whispered, looking around so that they were not overheard. "Where did you get the uniform from?"

"Doesn't matter" Aris said, "But if looks good on me right? Listen, did you see the airship at Junon?"

"Yeah" she replied, "I heard it was big but I didn't know it was going to be THAT big."

Aris chuckled, "Yup, it was really something, right? I wonder if I'll ever get to go on it"

"I wouldn't rule it out" Cloude smiled.

Aris beamed and happily clapped his hands together, "Wow, I'll look forward to it."

"I'm going up to find the others" Cloude informed him, "Somewhere among the crates you'll find Yuffen. Make sure he doesn't pass out, alright?"

Aris nodded as Cloude turned away and went over to the steps, a door to her left being guarded by another guard. She wondered what he was guarding as she passed him and a sailor who was slumped on the floor, drunk and moaning about how he was undervalued and that he was going to show Shinra what he could do. She only hoped that he too didn't vomit as she passed him and made her way up the steps.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Four

Fantasy Twist

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

As she reached the top, she had to squint her eyes as the roaring sun hit them. The sky was a cloudless blue and the sun a huge yellow ball. She immediately felt the heat through her Shinra Uniform and sweat began on her brow. She was tempted to take her helmet off, but keeping her disguise was of more importance.

The top of the deck was metal, more crates placed around oddly. There were few sailors working but that was a positive thing. She glanced over the rail and the water was a lighter blue than the sky.

"Hey!"

Cloude winced and looked up where a Shinra guard was looking down at her from the crow's nest. Reaching behind her instinctively, she felt disheartened that she didn't feel the handle of her sword. Like when she was infiltrating Madam Corneo's Mansion, she had slipped the giant weapon under her clothes. She glared distastefully at the guard, hoping that the recruit didn't suspect her of any wrong doings.

But in answer, the guard swiftly looked around and then lifted the helmet half off and Cloude was relieved to see Trey's face. The man winked and replaced the headwear. Using the steps, Cloude climbed her way up to the crow's nest and laughed.

"Yes Sir!" Trey chuckled, saluting the other, "Everything quiet, sir!" he grimaced and pulled at the front of the uniform, "Urgh, this uniform is . . . urgh, I have no words for it. I hate it"

Cloude's smile retreated as Trey sighed and muttered, "Uniforms, war, soldiers . . . I hate them all. They take away everyone you love . . . I wish they all would disappear. Don't you agree?"

"I guess" Cloude muttered, "Don't let anyone hear you say that, people will get suspicious"

"Right" Trey beamed, mock saluting again, "Yes Sir! I'll continue my watch, Sir! Hee hee"

Cloude rolled her eyes in amusement and instead of climbing down the steps; she jumped, landing squarely on her feet. "Hey, what was that about not being suspicious?" Trey hissed above her, but the tone of his voice playful.

"Back to work soldier" Cloude called up, cautious as a Shinra sailor glanced over in curiosity. Trey noticed the slight problem a second later and just saluted.

To avoid as many real Shinra employees as possible, Cloude continued down the length of the ship by staying to the side. She didn't bump into anyone this way and neither did she earn any odd or curious looks. She nodded to one Shinra guard and was about to continue until she saw something that made her stop. She stared at the guard until they got uncomfortable and Cloude noticed the problem that had caught her gaze. A red tail was peeking out the bottom of one of the legs of the trousers the guard wore, the fire at the tip thankfully not setting the uniform alight. And also, the way the soldier stood seemed off, the legs bent uncomfortably and the way the arms were held in front of them. Also, the bit of skin she could see underneath the helmet wasn't skin, but deep red fur.

She stepped closer to the guard and smiled, "You look uncomfortable."

The guard jumped out of shock and then sniggered, "Yeah, you got me" Red replied, "It's a little awkward stood like this but I'm getting the hang of it. Most humans only look at fleeting appearances anyway, so I shouldn't get caught as long as I've got this uniform on. I'd say I make a fine human being"

"Make sure no one see's your tail" Cloude said warmly, but with authority, "Normal human's don't have that appendage"

"Got it!" Red beamed, pulled her tail up and under the trousers. Once again, Cloude was amazed that the fire didn't set anything alight.

As Cloude turned to leave, she heard the animal sigh, "It's so hard standing on two feet"

Continuing on down the ship, she came to a stack of crates and once she was around them, she came to a room where the walls were made of glass so she could see straight through. Inside stood Ruthie Shinra and her faithful companion, Heidegger. As she got closer, the tall soldier next to her growled. Upon further inspection, she had to keep back a roaring laugh by hiding it as a cough.

Bernie turned to her and scowled. The fierce, Amazonian warrior like woman was wearing a sailor uniform like Yuffen but whereas the boy looked sweet in the clothes, Bernie looked hilarious. The clothes were a little small for her so the white and blue trousers stopped mid-calf and the shirt had been stretched painfully across her generous bosom. On the shirt sat a bright red bow, sat just above her breasts. The last few buttons of the shirt were undone, and like her usual clothes, it showed off her pierced midriff. And finally, perched on her head, on top of the long braids sat a little white hat, cute if it wasn't placed above such a scowling face.

Before Cloude could say a word, Bernie turned back to the room and whispered, "Look, Ruthie and Heidegger, so close but we can't do anything to them"

She growled as Heidegger inside the room laughed and walked around, pacing. Ruthie placed a hand on her forehead and dragged it wearily down her face. "How can he strut around laughing like that?" Bernie scowled, "Because of him Biggs . . . Wedge . . . Jesse."

She turned away from the window and tightly clenched the fingers of her one hand together, "I can't take it anymore" she snapped, "I'm gunna settle things here and now!"

She turned to face the window again, taking two long strides to where the enemy stood and Cloude had to grab her arm, holding her back so that the older woman didn't jump through the glass and start Hell. Before she lost her grip on the dark skinned woman, a siren blared and inside where the President stood, red lights were going off.

"Emergency alert!" shrieked a female voice, "Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship! Report when found. Repeat, reports of a suspicious-"

"Shit!" Bernie snarled, ripping her arm from Cloude's hold, "Did they find us out? Suspicious character found? Doesn't sound like us . . . Trey and the others maybe?"

She glared at Cloude and said, "C'mon, get off your spikey arse and let's go, Cloude!"

Cloude nodded, and together they ran back down the ship, the real guards and soldiers nowhere to be seen. As they reached the end where the steps to the bottom where, the rest of the team ran over to them, helmets off and fear in their eyes.

"Everyone all right?" Trey and Bernie said at the same time.

"Everyone here?" Cloude asked, raking her eyes over the group. Yuffen, no longer looking ill stood between Trey and herself, his sailor hat long gone, and Aris on Trey's other side. Next to Aris stood Red, now back to her natural all fours. Yes, they were all counted for.

"All here" Trey confirmed out loud as the others looked around their group nervously, "Suspicious character?"

"They don't mean?" Bernie began, her words trailing off.

Red growled and Aris gasped, placing a hand to his mouth, "Sephira?!" he whispered.

"What? Really?!" Trey hissed, looking at every single one of them in turn.

Bernie scowled, "How the Hell are we supposed to know!?"

Everyone looked at her, more fear now present on their faces. Cloude on the other hand was glaring at the metal floor, her teeth furiously ground together and her brows knitted together. Angrily she pulled her helmet off and threw it to the ground. Everyone turned to her surprised and as Aris and Trey both opened their mouths to say something, the blonde cut over them, "Let's go find out!"

There was a moment of silence as they all looked at each other until Red nodded her head and said, "It's the only way to find out but . . . who's going to go check?"

"I'll go alone" Cloude snarled.

"No!" Trey snapped as Aris let out an angry hiss and Bernie slammed her palm down on the ex-SOLDIERS shoulder. "You're not going to show me up by going alone" Yuffen piped up, "I'll go with you"

"I say we all go" Bernie snapped.

"We need people as look out" Trey said before turning to the young boy, "_You're _not going. It's too dangerous. I say Aris and I go, aside from Bernie I'm the strongest physically and Aris has his healing abilities. Bernie, you're in change of Red and Yuffen on lookout, if a problem occurs, we need your muscles up here"

"Damn it" Yuffen muttered as Bernie nodded in agreement.

"Good call" Bernie replied, "Geez, we should of made you leader instead of this hot headed bitch." But she ruffled Cloude's hair playfully, letting her know that her words were in no means meant to be offensive.

"Here everyone" Aris said, opening a sack that Cloude had just noticed was there, "Take out your clothes, I don't think we'll need these uniforms anymore"

All except Cloude and Red went over to the sack, the two men and one teenage boy stripping of their uniforms shamelessly and put on their normal clothes. Cloude took her clothes off too, her normal attire under the uniform so she had no need to hide any modestly. Red just shed her clothes, unnatural to her and Bernie, not caring that there were men present just ripped her clothes from her body, making Trey and Aris blush and quickly shut their eyes. Yuffen however, was entranced at looking at the woman's battle scars. Not caring and only wearing a black bra and underwear, Bernie went over to the sack and pulled out the last of the clothes.

"Could have done that behind a crate, Bernie" Trey hissed as the woman put on her shirt.

"Quit your moaning" Bernie snarled as she pulled her army coloured trousers on, "There's no time to act all modest right now. Stop acting like you've never seen a half-naked woman before"

Trey blushed further and, shielding Bernie with one of his hands, he turned to Cloude, "Come on then, we're ready"

Cloude nodded and as Bernie was getting her boots on, she, Trey and Aris went down the stairs and inside the large ship.


End file.
